Pokemon Catch em All or Die Trying
by judodave
Summary: Many young boys and girls get their first Pokemon on their tenth birthday, not Christie, now that she's eighteen and has her own Pokemon she's ready to take on the Pokemon world!
1. The Journey Begins

It was early in the morning in Pallet Town and the flying type Pokémon where singing whilst many of the town's residents where getting up that morning, all except one resident.

"And Christie wins the Pokémon League for the tenth year in a row!" A young woman muttered under her breath as she turned in her bed, little knowing that a Pidgey had flown into the room and was trying to wake her up by chirping right in her ear, the moment a set of blue eyes fell upon the Pidgey was the moment that that it chirped happily. "Ugh, Pidgey, five more minutes please! I'm busy fantasizing about winning the Pokémon League!" The young woman moaned before turning her head to her mother's Pokémon.

"Pidgey!" The small Pokémon called out but continued to be ignored with its second attempt being met with a thrown pillow that barely missed, that is until the young woman was forced out of bed after being hit by a gust attack.

"Pidgey, what the hell, it's still early!?" She moaned as she sat up, the girl was pretty tall for a woman and had shoulder length dark brown hair, which was currently a mess due to her being asleep, and blue eyes who was currently wearing a red nightgown. "I mean, it's….." Christie trailed off as she looked at the alarm clock. "It's ten in the morning? Why didn't mom just say so?" Christie asked and the bird quickly flew off. _"I swear my mom just loves trolling me sometimes!" _Christie thought with a sigh as she started brushing her hair.

"Christie, are you dressed yet?" A voice that Christie quickly recognized as her mom's rang out and she waited until her hair was brushed before answering.

"No mom, no thanks to your Pidgey!" Christie yelled back as she started getting dressed choosing a black crop top, blue jeans and black boots. "I am now!"

"Then come downstairs! I have a surprise for you!" Her mom responded and Christie grinned before she started tying up her hair, all her life Christie had wanted a Pokémon of her own but a combination of getting ill/sleeping in on her tenth birthday had left her out of luck, that was eight years ago and whilst she still had a habit of sleeping in she felt that she was ready for her own Pokémon.

"_Man, I hope that surprise is a fighting type Pokémon like Hitmonlee, Blaziken or something cool like that!" _Christie thought as she tied her hair up in a ponytail and left the room, her house was a decent sized one and it had to be as her mom owned several Pokémon, she was a former Pokémon trainer who had hoped that Christie would one day follow in her footsteps, Christie's train of thought was interrupted by Pidgey's chirping as it flew above her and she glared at the Pokémon. "We're not on good terms, you know that right?" Christie asked half-jokingly and the Pokémon let out another chirp before flying to the ground floor. "Mom, are you there?" She called out.

"Oh good, your finally awake!" Her mom said as Christie hopped off the bottom step, she was in the kitchen but she wasn't alone as the local Pokémon Professor was with her. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"I feel like I want to murder a certain bird Pokémon of yours." Christie grunted in annoyance as she glared at the Pidgey. "Seriously, I know I take ages to get out of bed in the morning but was that necessary?"

"It worked didn't it?" Christie's mom answered and Christie sighed in resignation. "Besides, Professor Oak has something for you."

"Why do I get the feeling this isn't a casual visit?" Christie commented as she entered the kitchen, the older man shook his head.

"No, it's not." Professor Oak said before handing her a Pokeball. "Yes, there is a Pokémon inside that's very excited to meet you, take it, it's yours."

"…am I still asleep?" Christie asked whilst she could barely contain her grin, once she pinched herself to confirm that she wasn't she happily took it. "Thanks Professor."

"Don't thank me yet." Professor Oak added before handing over six more Pokeballs and a Pokedex. "These ones are empty but you can use them to capture more Pokémon and your Pokedex will record any data you collect from your captures."

"Does that mean what I think it means?" Christie asked as she took the items, she attached the Pokeballs to her belt and pocketed the Pokedex. "That I'm finally going on a Pokémon journey?"

"The professor and I talked about this a few days ago and we both felt that you had waited long enough." Her mother answered and Christie's grin grew wider at that news. "So, are you going to let the Pokémon out?"

"Oh, right." Christie nodded before pressing the button on the Pokeball and tossing it to the ground. "I choose you…." Christie trailed off as the ball opened and an Evee emerged from it in a flash of light. "Evee?"

"I know you wanted a Fire or a fighting type Pokémon but this was the only one available." Professor Oak nodded and Christie turned to him with a grin on her face.

"No, its fine, I can always evolve it when I get my hands on a Fire Stone, Water Stone or Thunder Stone." Christie responded as the small Pokémon leapt into her arms. "Besides, he is cute…..it is a he right?"

"Yes, it's a male, now remember Christie." Her mom added and Christie sighed when she saw the look on her face, it was the same look she gave her when she was about to tell her something important. "No matter what happens I am just a short phone call away if something goes wrong, don't try to use a Pokeball on a Pokémon that already has a trainer and have fun."

"I will mom." Christie answered as Evee leapt from her arms and stretched for a bit. _"I may as well see if the Pokedex works." _Christie thought before digging out her Pokedex and pointing it at Evee,

"_Evee, the Evolution Pokémon." _The Pokedex's mechanical voice rang out as she read the data. _"Depending on circumstances, Eevee can evolve into many forms, Flareon, Vaporeon, Volteon, Umbreon, Leafeon, Glaceon or Sylveon."_

"Okay, I've only heard of the first three." Christie commented before closing the Pokedex and pocketing it. "So can I go?"

"Go without breakfast or packed supplies? I don't think so young lady!" Her mom answered and Christie sighed to herself before sitting down at the table. "I'll pack away your things for you after Breakfast I remember how excited I was to start my Pokémon journey when I was ten years old."

"Thanks for rubbing in the fact that I had a late start mom." Christie muttered under her breath but her mom either ignored or didn't hear her as she started preparing her breakfast, Professor Oak had left by this point and Evee had sat next to her leg. "Mom, you got any spare Pokémon food? I think Evee's hungry."

"Check the cupboard dear, there should be some as I did a big shop yesterday." Her mom responded and she nodded before opening up the cupboard and looking through it, predictably Evee and several other Pokémon ran up when they saw the Pokémon food cupboard open.

"Mom, how did you manage to fit a Tauros into the house in the first place?" Christie moaned as she pushed the bull Pokémon aside.

"When you're a Pokémon trainer you find a way." Her mom answered and Christie rolled her eyes before grabbing a box of food and a small bowl for Evee to eat out of. "Don't worry about them Christie, most of them will leave when they see that the bowl's too small for them."

"That doesn't count for your Pidgey though." Christie sighed as she glanced up at the Bird Pokémon which was now perched on her shoulder. "I'm surprised this thing hasn't evolved into a Pidgeotto by now, you've definitely had it long enough."

"So am I but its parents took a long time to evolve so my guess is maybe it's something genetic." Her mom answered as Christie poured a bowl of Pokémon and put it in front of Evee who started eating it happily whilst the rest of the Pokémon sulked off. "You could always take Pidgey with you if you want." Her mom offered and Christie sweat-dropped.

"And put up with the morning routine whilst out on my travels? No thanks, I'll probably catch one on my own as soon as I get going." Christie answered as she sat back down, Evee gave her a curious look which she couldn't help but laugh at. "Oh, speaking of getting going, I'll probably need a map so I can find my way around, won't I?"

"I'm ahead of you there; I'll be giving you the map I used on my journey." Her mom answered as she gave her a bowl of porridge. "Now eat up, I'll be packing your bags whilst you are." Her mom added before heading upstairs.

"_I can't believe it! I'm finally going on my Pokémon Journey." _Christie thought as she ate the porridge, she momentarily glanced over at Evee who had finished his food and was lying down next to the empty bottle. _"Maybe I should give the little guy a nickname of some sort? Mom told me that she gave her first Pokémon a nickname." _Christie thought before she heard her stomach rumbling. _"Worry about that later, for now focus on eating." _Christie thought before she started eating her food again.

*twenty minutes later*

"Yes mom, I've got everything I need for this stinking journey." Christie sighed to herself as she slung her backpack, which now contained her Pokeballs and various other items, over her shoulder, she hadn't left yet but Evee was in its Pokeball and she was just saying her good-byes to her mom. "And yeah, I'll be careful!"

"I know you will dear." Her mom sighed as she looked the teenager over. "It's just that you've grown so much in the past eight years so it is kind of jarring that you're leaving the house."

"I know mom but I can look after myself, I hope." Christie responded with a grin before picking up Evee's Pokeball. "And with Evee at my side how can I go wrong?"

"Do you even know what moves that Pokémon can use at the moment?" Her mom asked and Christie shook her head. "Well I guess you'll have to find out on your own, Oak told me that it's a Level Five Pokémon so it should know an offensive move or two."

"That's good to know." Christie responded with a grin before turning towards the road that would take her to Route One. "See you mom, next time you see me I'll be at the Pokémon league!"

"Don't forget to call." Her mom called after her and Christie grinned before walking off towards the road.


	2. Insect troubles

It had been an hour since Christie had started her Pokémon journey and most trainers by now had at least caught one Pokémon, unfortunately for Christie she was having no luck in that department as despite how long she had been searching for she had been unable to find a second Pokémon.

"Oh come on!" Christie moaned as she slumped against a nearby tree and sat on the grass, the clearly frustrated teenager had stopped to rest her feet before she tried to catch another Pokémon. "How hard can it be to find a Pokémon? I've been looking in all the right spots!" Christie moaned to herself before retrieving the Town Map from her backpack and checking it. _"Okay, I'm still on Route One, hell I can still see my home from here, and the next city's Viridian City."_ Christie thought before returning the Town Map to her backpack. _"Okay, new plan, try to catch at least two Pokémon before you get to Viridian City and once you get there rest at the Pokémon Centre."_

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Christie's train of thought was interrupted when she heard a male voice ring out and she looked up seeing a tall male trainer around her age with messy red hair and brown eyes wearing a denim jacket, a red t-shirt and blue jeans. "What's a pretty little lady like you doing out here? You lost or something?"

"No!" Christie asserted as she stood up. "I'm just looking for Pokémon to catch."

"Oh so you're a trainer huh?" The teen asked before pulling out the side of his jacket revealing three Pokeballs. "So how many Pokémon have you caught sweet-cheeks?"

"None," Christie said as her eyes narrowed. "And call me sweet cheeks again and I'll throw you into that river over there!" Christie added and the teen backed off.

"Hey chill, I meant no harm!" The teen said with a gulp and Christie rolled her eyes. "Why don't we start from the top? I'm Steven."

"I'm Christie." Christie introduced herself after a few minutes before grinning as an idea popped into her head. "You know what? Since we're both trainers why don't we have a battle right here?" Christie said as she retrieved Evee's Pokeball. "I've been meaning to see what my starter can do anyway!"

"Sounds like a plan to me." Steven responded with a grin as he retrieved his own Pokeball. "Since you only have one Pokémon what do you say to a one on one battle?"

"That's fine by me!" Christie responded as she pressed the button on her Pokeball. "Go Evee!" Christie called out as she tossed the Pokeball and it opened up revealing the small brown Pokémon.

"You chose an Evee huh? Not a bad choice for a starter!" Steven responded as he pressed the button on his own Pokeball. "I choose you Litleo!" Steven called out as he tossed the Pokeball and a small black Pokémon that closely resembled a lion cub emerged from it that had a red mane.

"Litleo?" Christie asked as she dug out her Pokedex, flipped it open and pointed it at the Pokémon.

"_Litleo, the Lion Cub Pokémon, the stronger the opponent it faces, the more heat surges from its mane and the more power flows through its body, this Pokémon is typically native to the Kalos region."_ The Pokedex read out the data and she quickly pocketed it again.

"It seems my secrets out I'm originally from the Kalos region." Steven admitted as Litleo got ready for battle.

"So what brings you all the way to Kanto?" Christie asked as she folded her arms. "Kalos is pretty far away from here, isn't it?"

"It is but I've already competed in that region's Pokémon league so I came here for a new challenge." Steven admitted and Christie sweat-dropped. "Heh, don't worry, I didn't even do that well, barely made it into the Top 32, it's not like you're facing the champ!"

"That's a relief." Christie sighed in relief. "Evee, Quick Attack!" Christie commanded as the small Pokémon started charging at Litleo at a high speed.

"Litleo, Ember!" Steven called out and the Pokémon opened its maw before setting lose a string of fireballs, most of them where dodged by Evee but one caught it on the side just before the Quick Attack hit sending both Pokémon flying back. "Fast little guy isn't he?"

"And your Litleo isn't bad either." Christie said with a confident grin on her face as Evee and Litleo got back to their feet. "Evee, Swift!" Christie commanded and the Evee looked at her confused. "You haven't learnt that move yet?"

"Evees usually learn that move by Level Ten, what level is he at?" Steven asked and Christie sweat-dropped.

"Level Five." Christie sighed and Steven shook his head.

"You have a lot to learn if you want to make it as a trainer, Litleo, Take Down!" Steven commanded and the Pokémon charged towards Evee.

"I may have a lot to learn but I'm a quick learner! Evee, Tackle!" Christie commanded and the Evee charged towards the other one but Litleo was faster and hit Evee first sending him flying back, this time Evee didn't get up. "Evee!"

"Sorry little lady but it looks like I win." Steven said as he called back his Litleo. "Unfortunately you still have a while to go before you reach the next Pokémon Center."

"Oh great," Christie sighed as she knelt down next to Evee. "Don't worry Evee mom packed a Revive in my bag." Christie added before reaching in and retrieving the Revive before using it on Evee, seconds later Evee's eyes opened and it stretched his paws.

"You might want to use a Potion as well, especially if you're looking for your first capture." Steven said and Christie nodded before retrieving the Potion from her bag. "Look I know we didn't exactly get off on the right foot Christie but you have some potential there."

"Thanks." Christie thanked him as she used the Potion on Evee. "Know any good places I can catch a Pokémon or two?"

"I saw some Wild Pidgey and Spearow in the grass over there but I've already caught one of each so I left them alone." Steven answered after thinking for a couple of minutes. "And if you don't mind bugs there are a few bug types around here."

"Thanks." Christie said as she returned Evee to its Pokeball. "Once I capture some more Pokémon I'll be back for a rematch though."

"Try leveling up Evee as well, unless you want a repeat performance." Steven said before walking off. "Oh and if you have a fishing rod you could catch some Water Pokémon over in that river over there, you'll need some for the Pewter City Gym."

"I thought Viridian City was the nearest town with a gym?" Christie asked and Steven shook his head.

"It is but the leader recently retired, their looking for someone to take his place but until then the Gym's closed. " Steven answered as he turned to her. "Besides the Viridian Gym is the toughest gym in the region, there's a reason why so many Pokémon trainers save that gym for last."

"Thanks for the warning." Christie answered before checking her map again. "Pewter City…that's the location of the rock type gym, isn't it?"

"That's the one; as good as your Evee is it won't have much effect on the Pokémon in that gym." Steven answered and Christie frowned. "Your Evee should be good to go for a couple of more battles if you're careful but try to get him to the Pokémon Centre in Viridian City as soon as you can."

"How far is that city anyway?" Christie wondered out-loud and Steven laughed. "First you call me sweet-cheeks, then you beat me in a Pokémon battle and now you're laughing at me? You're not exactly doing a lot to endear yourself to me you know?" Christie pointed out and Steven stopped laughing.

"Hey relax, I meant no harm." Steven responded and Christie shook her head. "I was just laughing at how inexperienced you were." Steven added before realizing something. "And any chance I had at dating you just went out the window didn't it?"

"First off, we just met and you're already thinking of dating me? What next, you want to get in my pants? Don't answer that!" Christie answered as she stood up and Steven quickly shut up. "And second, you really just destroyed your case there." Christie added as she brushed past him. "See you around I guess."

"Yeah, see you." Steven said dejectedly as Christie walked off. _"Great, first pretty girl I see since I got here and I already blew my chances with her! At least I got a decent battle out of it." _Steven thought as he looked around. _"Okay, next town is Pallet Town, if that isn't Christie's hometown I'd be surprised." _Steven thought before his cell-phone went off and he answered it. "Hey."

"Hey Steven, what's up?" A young female voice rang out and Steven sighed.

"Just had a battle against a cute girl and her Evee, I won off course but I proceeded to make an ass of myself at the same time." Steven answered and the young girl sighed. "What about you Ann?"

"Not much, just the usual." Ann answered and Steve nodded. "By the way, what direction did the girl walk towards?"

"Err, the river where I caught that Goldeen, why?" Steven asked and Ann gasped. "What?"

"There have been reports of attacks by Beedrill swarms in that area." Ann answered and Steven's eyes widened. "Besides her Evee how many Pokémon does she have?"

"Just the Evee, it's pretty clear that she's an amateur too." Steven answered before grabbing a Pokeball. "Ann, I'll call you back."

"Steve, I know you're desperate for a girlfriend but aren't you taking it a bit far?" Ann answered and Steven blushed before hanging up.

"_As much as I'd like to date Christie there's more pressing matters!" _Steven thought as he ran towards where Christie had walked off too.

*meanwhile*

"_Come on, where are those Pokémon?" _Christie thought as she walked down the path, her Evee was currently out of its ball and was walking side by side with him. _"I swear if that guy was lying to me than being beaten in a Pokémon match….." _Christie trailed off as she heard the nearby grass rustling and she braced herself as did Evee. "Evee, are you going to be okay going into this?" Christie asked her Pokémon who nodded in response and seconds later a Pidgey and a Spearow emerged from the grass and quickly spotted her. "Get them with a Quick Attack Evee!" Christie commanded and the Pokémon charged towards the two Bird Pokémon, Pidgey charged in first with a Peck attack but Evee dodged it and hit in the chest knocking it down for the count.

The Spearow seemed spooked by something and tried to leave but Evee charged at it knocking it down with a tackle, Spearow quickly got up and tried using a gust attack on Evee which the small Pokemon withstood before charging in and connecting with a Quick Attack that took Spearow down for the count.

"Great job Evee!" Christie said with a grin before grabbing and activating two Pokeballs. "Pokeballs, go!" Christie shouted out as she tossed them at the Pidgey and the Spearow, the Pokemon struggled for a few seconds but eventually the Pokeballs dinged indicating a successful capture. "Yes! My first two captures at the same time!" Christie said with a fist pump before grabbing both Pokeballs and putting them in her backpack. _"I wonder what spooked that Spearow. Ah well, it doesn't matter." _Christie thought as she glanced around. _"Where is the river Steven mentioned?"_

"Evee! Evee!" The small, panicked cries off Christie's starter rang out breaking her train of thought as he tugged on her trouser leg and she turned to him.

"What is it Ev…" Christie trailed off when she saw a massive swarm of Beedrill surrounding her on all sides, the bee Pokemon where weak individually but together they were potentially deadly. "OH SHIT!" Christie yelled out before retrieving Evee's Pokeball, activating it and pointing it at Evee. "Evee, return, you're in no condition to fight those things." Christie said as the beam of light emerged from the Pokeball returning Evee to the safety of it, unfortunately for her that was the moment the Beedrill chose to strike and she made a run for it once she saw an opening. "Leave me alone!" Christie managed to blurt out as the Beedrill managed to catch her in the ribs a few times, unfortunately for Christie her foot caught on a rock causing her to lose her balance and face plant on the ground giving the Beedrill a chance to swarm in on her and attack.

"Litleo, Pidgeot, go!" Steven yelled out as he threw the two Pokeballs and the two Pokemon emerged from it. "Pidgeot, Whirlwind! Litleo, Ember!" Steven commanded and the two Pokemon launched their attacks Pidgeot sending a majority of the Beedrill flying all over the place whilst Litleo scared the rest of but not before managing to knock one out with an Ember. "Waste not, want not! Pokeball, go!" Steven added as he launched the Pokeball at the unconscious Beedrill successfully capturing it. "Christie, are you okay?" Steven asked but only got a moan in response. "Hang in there, there's a Pokemon center nearby!" Steven told her before helping her too her feet and calling Ann. "Come on, come on!"

"Steve, is the girl all right?" Ann asked as soon as the call went through and Steve sighed.

"She's pretty banged up, she got attacked by a swarm of Beedrill but I arrived in the nick of time to save her, managed to catch one in the process." Steve responded as he picked up the Pokeball. "I'm going to take her to the Pokemon Center in Viridian City, can you meet us there?"

"Err, yeah, I'm just north of Viridian, I'll see you there." Ann responded before hanging up and Steve pocketing the cell phone and the Pokeball. Litleo and Pidgeot caught up to him and he sighed.

"Did you see her Evee anywhere Litleo?" Steven asked and the Pokemon shook his head. _"She probably returned him to his Pokeball before trying to get away from the swarm I know I'd do the same if I were in her shoes." _Steven thought before returning his Pokemon to their balls, he rested her arm over his shoulder and started carrying her to the city.


	3. Recovery Time

"Ugh, my everything…." Christie moaned as she woke up, she had no idea how much time had passed since the Beedrill attack but she knew one thing, she was in a different place still in her outfit from earlier and her ribs where bandaged up. "Hello? Is there anyone there?" Christie called out as she tried to sit up but a sharp pain in her ribs prevented that, seconds later the door opened up and Steven entered the room. "Steven?"

"Good to see you're awake the doctors said that you were lucky to escape with minor injuries." Steven said as he entered the room and Christie blinked. "You don't remember the Beedrill attack?" Steve asked and Christie winced before nodding as the memory came back to her. "I arrived just in time, another minute and…." Steven trailed off and Christie shuddered. "I bet you have a few questions so go ahead and ask."

"Err, yeah, where am I exactly?" Christie asked and Steven sat down on a chair.

"You're at Viridian City's Pokemon Center, these places usually have rooms for trainers to stay at, and Evee and the two Pokemon you caught are with Nurse Joy downstairs." Steven explained and Christie sighed in relief. "We took you to the hospital but a quick check up revealed that you just had some bruising around the Ribcage so they bandaged you up and discharged you."

"Thanks." Christie thanked him as she leaned back on the bed. "Wait, we?"

"He's talking about me." Ann's voice rang out and Christie looked up seeing a young girl in her preteens with shoulder length red hair and blue eyes who was wearing a red dress. "Hi, I'm Ann Steven's little sister and a fellow Pokemon trainer."

"Oh great, another trainer who got an earlier start than me," Christie moaned and Ann giggled. "My name's Christie, thanks for your help."

"I know that." Ann responded as she handed over three Pokeballs. "Here, your Pokemon are fully healed, I volunteered to take them up to you."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Christie said as she took the three Pokemon. "So Steven, what happened exactly?"

"I saw you catch the Pidgey and the Spearow within a few minutes of each other, nice catch by the way." Steven complimented her and Christie grinned before gritting her teeth and sitting up. "By the time the swarm attacked I was halfway up the hill and I was only close enough to send out my Pokemon by the time you had tripped, honestly I think you're lucky that I arrived when I did."

"You think?" Christie sighed as she swung her legs over. "If my Evee was in better shape then I would've tried to at least capture one of them."

"I kind of beat you too it." Steven responded as he held up Beedrill's Pokeball. "Litleo managed to catch one of them with an Ember and I kind of jumped at the chance, my Pidgeotto blew the majority of them away with a Whirlwind so if you're still interested in capturing one you may want to hurry."

"I think I'll just stick to raising a Weedle." Christie moaned as she folded her arms. "Does my mom know I was attacked?"

"Yeah, we were looking through your contacts to see if there were any family members nearby and when we found your mom's phone number we called her." Ann answered and Christie sighed. "She's downstairs at the moment; do you want me to get her?"

"Yeah, that'll be great thanks." Christie sighed and Ann left the room in a hurry. "Great, barely five minutes into my Pokemon journey and I get injured after capturing my first two Pokémon." Christie sighed as she rested her arms on her legs. "Can this day get any better?" Christie asked sarcastically and Steven shook his head.

"Like I said, it could've been a lot worse if Ann hadn't told me about the recent Beedrill attacks." Steven responded and Christie grinned at that. "So what's your plan now?"

"Soon as I feel better I'll head back to Route One and try to get me a Water Type for the Pewter Gym." Christie responded with a grin. "My mom packed an old rod for me for it should be pretty easy."

"If capturing Pokemon was that easy I would've caught a lot more by now." Steven sighed and Christie nodded in response. "So why did you start so late in the first place?" Steven asked and Christie sighed.

"Would you believe I slept in and got a cold on my tenth birthday?" Christie asked and Steven laughed at that. "I'm serious, by the time I got to Professor Oak's lab all three starters and the two backup Pokemon where already claimed."

"That's some rotten luck." Steven admitted and Christie nodded in agreement. "You didn't try again afterwards?"

"Twice, once when I was fourteen and again when I was sixteen." Christie sighed as she shook her head. "And both times something got in the way, I slept in too late, I had a bike accident the week before and broke my leg, yeah really, it's almost like some higher power decided that no, Christie Monroe won't get her first Pokemon until she was eighteen!"

"Well, at least you got your opportunity in the end right?" Steven asked and Christie nodded in agreement, before either of them could say anything else the door opened and Christie's mom entered the room clearly concerned for her daughter.

"Hi mom," Christie said as she looked up at her mom. "My Pokemon journey hasn't exactly gotten off to a great start."

"So I noticed." Her mom responded before taking a seat. "Christie, what were you thinking? You know how dangerous Beedrill can be in a swarm."

"I didn't know there was a Beedrill swarm in the area I only went there because Steven here told me that he had spotted some Pidgey and Spearow in that area." Christie sighed in response and her mom turned to Steven.

"I didn't know either ma'am, I only learned after I got a call from Ann and by then your daughter had already left." Steven added as he shifted his weight. "By the time I got close enough to attack the swarm Christie had tripped and fallen allowing the Beedrill to attack her at once,"

"I think you know the rest." Christie added with a wince as she felt up her ribs. "Well, the Beedrill swarm is gone from that area anyway so I'll be going back there so I can get me some Water Type Pokemon."

"Absolutely not young lady, you could've been killed by that swarm!" Her mom asserted and Christie winced.

"Ma'am, it's fine, we talked and agreed that me and Ann should accompany Christie on her journey." Steven interjected and Christie's mom sighed in relief.

"We did?" Christie whispered to him and Steven turned to her.

"Just go with it." Steven whispered back before turning to her mom. "Trust me ma'am, your daughter's in good hands with me around!"

"It's were those hands are going that concerns me." Christie's mom responded and the two teens blushed when they realized what she meant.

"That wasn't what I meant." Steven said with a laugh as Christie just shook her head at her mom's comment. "She has potential as a trainer and I and Ann have a lot more experience than she does and we could help her bring out that potential."

"You're really not helping my frustration over my late start as a trainer, you know that right?" Christie whispered to him and Steven shook his head.

"Well, if you say so Steven." Her mom relented and Christie sighed in relief as she stood up. "I'm heading back to Pallet Town but don't forget to call me Christie, and if he gets you pregnant don't say I didn't tell you so." Her mom added ignoring the embarrassed looks on the teens faces as she left the room.

"You're not actually going to get her pregnant, are you?" Ann chimed in and Steven shook his head.

"It's a bit too early for that in my opinion and I think Christie agrees with me." Steven responded as he turned to Christie who nodded in agreement. "Look, sorry for springing that on you Christie but I could see no other way of assuring your mom that you'd be safe on your journey." Steven added as Christie finally got out of bed and walked up to the window so she could get a view of the town. "If you don't like the idea then we'll go our separate ways."

"As much as my ego says that I'll be fine on my own I realize that you have a point there." Christie responded as she turned to them after thinking for a couple of minutes. "But if we end up qualifying for the Pokémon league and end up facing each other I won't hold back, I've been fantasizing about winning that thing ever since I was a little girl!"

"I think most trainers would say the same thing but you have a deal." Steven responded with a nod as he stood up. "So do you want to do now? Do you want to rest for a bit or head back to the river."

"Head back to the river I'm getting a bit restless being cramped in here." Christie responded as she looked up. "By the way, do either of you know where I can get my hands on a Torchic?"

"Yeah, there are a few wild ones in Viridian Forest." Ann responded and Christie grinned. "Hoping to raise a Blaziken?"

"Yeah, I was hoping to get a fire type as my starter but I had to settle for my Evee." Christie responded with a frown as she turned to them. "I didn't think I'd be able to get one out of its home region so I'm relieved to hear that."

"Well there are a few Kanto native Pokémon back home in Kalos so there's that." Steven responded as he stood up. "So just to recap, you want to head to the river and hope to catch some wild Water Pokemon and then head to Viridian Forrest to catch some Torchick and some other Pokemon, am I right?"

"Yeah, for once….." Ann teased him and Steven gave her a mock death glare. "So what kind of rod do you have?" Ann asked and Christie checked her backpack.

"Err, just an Old Rod." Christie responded and the others frowned. "It was a gift from my mom."

"No offense Christie, but you're not going to catch any decent Pokemon with that thing." Steven said as he put his hands in his pockets. "If you still want to use it go ahead but just to be safe I think we should stop by the Pokemart downstairs and buy you some more Pokeballs."

"I still have four left." Christie said after checking her backpack. "But having some spare balls to hold onto would be good…..what I just said never leaves this room, got it?" Christie asked when she saw her two companions snickering at her comment. "Can we just go already?"

"Well if you're feeling up for it." Steven said as he and Ann stood up. "Let's go." Steve added and the three of them left the room.

*some time later*

"So, any luck?" Steven asked as he and Christie waited for the Water Pokemon to take the bait, they were back on Route One and where currently fishing near the location of the Beedrill attack, fortunately for them Christie had been correct in her assumption that the Beedrill swarm was gone.

"No luck so far." Christie said as she rested her chin on her hand. "I mean, as much as I like sitting around and grasping a rod as hard as I can…oh damn it, not again!" Christie moaned as she face palmed whilst Steven laughed. "What I'm saying this that I'm starting to get pins and needles in my legs."

"You could always spread your legs a bit…and that sounded even worse." Steven realized and Ann giggled at that. "Look, we'll wait a few more minutes and if we don't catch anything we'll move onto a different spot, deal?"

"You have a deal." Christie nodded before she felt a tug on her fishing rod and grabbed onto it with both hands. "Oh, I got something!"

"Hold on, I'll help!" Steve said as he grabbed her from behind and pulled.

"You realize how dirty that looks, do you?" Ann giggled but they ignored her.

"It would look even worse if my hands were around her chest and not her waist!" Steven responded as Christie nearly fell into the river.

"If they where I would've kicked you in the balls by now!" Christie retorted before pulling out the Pokemon with one mighty pull…..and getting a Magicarp. "I wait all this time and get a Magicarp?"

"You win some, you lose some." Steven said as he let go and Christie stood up before stretching her legs for a bit. "So you want to toss it back?"

"You're kidding right?" Christie asked as she grabbed an empty Pokeball and threw it at the Magicarp the Magicarp entered the ball mid splash and stayed in there. "At this point I'll take any Pokemon I can find!" Christie added as she picked up her newly captured Pokemon.

"Yeah but I wouldn't count on that being any help when we reach Pewter City." Steven responded as he sat back down. "Magicarp are pretty much the weakest Pokemon in the world, it's only saving grace is its evolved form."

"All the more reason to catch it then and besides, I'll catch better Water Pokemon before we reach Pewter City." Christie responded as she watched Steven resume fishing.

"You'd better save a spot for the Torchic you want otherwise it'll go to Professor Oak." Steven responded and Christie nodded.

"Steve, I may be an ammeter at this but I know the basics, my mom's a retired Pokémon trainer." Christie explained as she put the newly caught Pokémon in her backpack. "She retired to raise a family, namely me, but she still has a lot of her Pokémon from back then."

"Sounds like Pokémon Training's in your blood." Steven commented as he waited for a Water Type to take the bait. "So what about your dad, I would've thought that he'd have come up with your mom as soon as he heard that you were injured." Steve enquired not noticing that the expression on Christie's face had darkened as soon as he asked that until after he had finished speaking. "He's dead, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he passed away just before my tenth birthday." Christie sighed as she sat back down and got her fishing rod out. "My mom told me that he died of an illness that he had for a while but never went into the specifics." Christie added and Steven shook his head.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked." Steve apologized and Christie shook her head.

"Don't worry about it I've had nine years to get over his death." Christie added as she shifted her weight. "That's part of the reason my mom retired, the original plan was for her to accompany me for the first length of my Pokémon journey but…..well we both know what happened there." Christie added and Steve nodded.

"If it helps I think he'd be proud that you're finally going on your journey." Steve responded and Christie grinned at that. "Well, I'm not making any progress so far." Steve added as he stood up and got an idea. "Maybe you should grab my rod and try it…yes I realize what I just said Ann, shut up!" Steve said as he started blushing furiously.

"I'm not saying anything." Ann said with an innocent look on her face as Christie took Steve's fishing rod.

"Might be worth a shot I guess." Christie shrugged as she set her old rod aside and started using Steve's fishing rod instead. "So why did you guys come all the way from Kalos anyway? Aren't there a few countries in between Kalos and Kanto that you could've gone too?"

"There are." Steve nodded as he sat back down. "But the cheapest way for a Pokémon trainer to leave Kalos was the St. Anne cruise ship and we pretty much got a one stop trip to Kanto because it was the only one available." Steve explained as Christie waited for something to tug at the rod. "I'm not complaining since it led to me meeting you but still."

"I'll never been to Kalos so I'll have to take your word for it." Christie responded as she waited for a couple of minutes. "Okay, it doesn't look like anything's going to take the bait." Christie said as she reeled it in and handed the rod back to Steve. "I say we move on."

"I was about to suggest that." Steve responded before checking his Town Map. "Okay, our next stop is Viridian City where we've already stopped by and after that there's Route 2 and Viridian Forrest and we both know that you wanted to head to the forest as well." Steve added and Christie nodded. "Well, there's a lake we can try just to the north of Viridian City, might be able to get a few battles in whilst we're at it."

"As long as I win my first trainer battle I'm not complaining." Christie responded and Steve nodded in agreement. "What time is it anyway?" Christie asked and Steve checked his watch.

"Late afternoon/early evening…." Steve responded before noticing Christie's surprised look. "We spent an hour in the hospital and the rest of the day at the Pokémon center."

"Wait, you mean I was out for at least four hours?" Christie asked with a raised eyebrow and Steve nodded. "Okay, two questions: one: why didn't you take me back to the hospital? Two: you didn't do anything inappropriate, right?" Christie asked as she folded her arms.

"In order: the doctors said that that was normal for multiple Beedrill stings so ask them and two: NO! I usually wait until after the first date before doing anything like that with a girl!" Steve asserted and Christie sighed in relief. "Anyway, let's get going, it's not like we're going to find any decent trainers or Pokémon here."

"Did you suddenly forget that I met you here?" Christie asked with a cheeky grin and Steve paused for a minute.

"Okay, we won't find any decent trainers besides me, you and Ann." Steve corrected himself and the two girls nodded in approval before the trio walked off.


	4. Into the Forrest

"Are we there yet?" Christie moaned as they walked along Route 2, they were currently trying to find the lake Steven had mentioned but weren't having any luck.

"Christie you said that ten times now and the answers still the same as the last nine times you said that, no." Steven sighed as he checked his map. "Ann I thought you said that the lake was just north of Viridian City?"

"No, I said it was north of Viridian City, how far north I don't know." Ann responded with a frown and the two older trainers shared a look. "And before you ask, no it's not beyond Viridian Forrest!"

"Good because my feet are starting to ache and there's nowhere around that looks comfortable enough to sit on!" Christie moaned as she folded her arms. "I told you that we should've used the Town Map that I got from my mom!"

"Christie, that thing's so outdated it still lists Giovani as the gym leader for the Viridian City Gym!" Steven pointed out as he checked his map. "I swear girls can be such moaners!" Steve muttered under his breath only to have his ear pulled by Christie and Ann.

"What was that?!" The two girls demanded in a threatening voice and Steven winced.

"Nothing, nothing, please let go!" Steven pleaded with them and they did, Steve rubbed his aching ear before checking the Town Map again. "Ann, are you sure that the lake wasn't too the north of Viridian Forrest?"

"I'm sure! That narrow path up ahead will lead us to the lake!" Ann responded as she pointed it out and the older teens sighed in relief before they made their way through the path and came upon the lake where Christie spotted a Rhyhorn having a drink.

"Ah sweet, I'm going to catch a Rhyhorn this early in my journey!" Christie said before activating her Pokeball and going to throw it. "Pokeball….."

"Christie, that Rhyhorn has a trainer." Steven pointed out and Christie face-faulted when she saw a male trainer patting the rock type on the head. "If it helps I didn't see him at first either."

"I knew that!" Christie asserted with a nervous laugh as she deactivated her Pokeball and returned it to the backpack.

"Ah, so you three are trainers." The male trainer said upon seeing the trio, he was a tall lanky man with short black hair and brown eyes who was wearing a black trenchcoat, a red t-shirt, cargo pants and boots. "And it seems she has a good eye for Pokémon."

"You're not offended that she tried to capture it?" Steven asked as Christie glared at him and the trainer laughed.

"Eh, mistakes happen." The trainer responded as Christie got to her feet. "I'm Tristan, and this little guy is my Rhyhorn."

"_He calls that little?" _Christie thought as she looked at the large Pokémon. "I'm Christie, he's Steven and that's his sister Ann." Christie introduced herself and Tristan nodded.

"You have no badges huh? Just started your journey?" Tristan asked and Christie nodded. "May I see your Pokémon?"

"Err, sure." Christie said as she dug out her four Pokémon. "Come on out guys!" Christie called out as she tossed the four Pokémon and Evee, Pidgey and Fearow stood their proudly…whilst Magicarp splashed around on the floor.

"Nice mix of Pokémon there." Tristan commented as Christie returned Magicarp to its Pokeball. "But where's your starter?"

"It's that Evee." Christie responded as she pointed to the Pokémon who let out a happy cry as she pointed to it. "He was the only Pokémon available but he can hold his own!"

"Have you given any thought on what you'll evolve it into?" Tristan asked and Christie shook her head.

"When I first started off I thought there was still only three Eveelutions." Christie responded with a frown. "The fact that there are eight of them now makes it even harder to decide."

"Not her fault that they keep discovering new evolved forms of Evee." Steven chimed in as he walked up with his hands in his pockets. "We're looking for Torchic for Christie to capture and raise into a Blaziken, we heard that there were some in Viridian Forest."

"You heard right, I saw some on the way over from Pewter City." Tristen nodded in response. "Didn't interest me though, I'm a trainer who specializes in Rock Types like my Rhydon here."

"Sounds like you really know how to rock!" Christie commented with a grin and the others face-palmed at her bad pun. "Sorry, couldn't resist."

"Can't believe I'm saying this but just stick to sexual innuendos Christie." Steven told Christie and she rolled her eyes before getting her fishing rod out and starting fishing. "You'll have to excuse her I'm pretty much the brains of the bunch!"

"I heard that!" Christie and Ann yelled out simultaneously and Steven sweat-dropped.

"So I get that Ann's your sister and all…." Tristan said as he glanced over at Ann as she took a seat next to Christie as did Christie's Pokémon. "But what about Christie, are you two a couple?"

"Not really, we literally just met today." Steven responded as he shook his head. "I was Christie's first trainer battle but I defeated her pretty easily."

"Thanks for rubbing it in." Christie yelled out and Steve laughed nervously.

"Well you're already acting like a married couple." Tristan chuckled causing the two teens to face-fault and Christie to nearly fall into the lake in the process. "So how did you go from that to…?" Tristan trailed off as a loud splash was heard and they looked up seeing that Christie had indeed fallen into the water.

"Great, now I have to go get changed." Christie grunted as she got out of the lake and gave her hair, which had fallen out of its ponytail, a flip.

"There's some bushes over there you can get changed in." Tristan told Christie and she nodded before grabbing her backpack and walking towards the bushes whilst trying her best to keep her cool and her Pokémon followed her. "So what happened that led to her being your traveling companion?"

"Beedrill attack, yeah, seriously." Steven answered and Tristan winced. "She had just caught some more Pokémon when she was attacked by a Beedrill swarm over in Route 1; I intervened before things could get ugly but she was pretty banged up, from there I bluffed my way into accompanying her."

"It hasn't exactly been her day, has it?" Tristan asked and Steven nodded. "A Pokémon Trainer's first day is always the roughest, she'll get used to it."

"I'm pretty sure she likes it rough." Steve commented before blushing like a mad-man. "Not a word to Christie or Ann about what I just said, got it?"

"My lips are sealed." Tristan responded as he made a zipping motion with his fingers.

*meanwhile*

"First a Beedrill attack, now this." Christie sighed as she swapped her crop top for a red one, she had already chosen her outfit and whilst the only difference, besides how wet her first outfit was, was the fact that her crop top was red she was just glad to be out of the wet clothing. "I lost my damn hairband in the lake as well at least it can't get any worse after the Beedrill attack!"

"Torchic….." Christie's train of thought was interrupted when she saw a Torchic walk by and sniffing the nearby flowers not noticing that a teenaged girl and her Evee where nearby.

"_Sweet, maybe if I'm quiet I can catch it without incident!" _Christie thought as she grabbed one of her new Pokeballs and activated it, unfortunately for her she stepped on a twig the moment she got close enough to attempt the capture and Torchic looked up, the Pokémon panicked when it saw the Pokeball and ran off. "Wait, I don't mean you any harm!" Christie called after it as she gave chase to the Fire Pokémon but it was faster than she was and led her back to the lake. "Oh screw it! Evee, Quick Attack!" Christie commanded and the Evee took the lead as it chased after the Torchic, the Torchic span around and fired some Embers at Evee but he dodged all but one of them but by that time Evee was close enough to hit the Quick Attack knocking the Torchic to the ground.

"Christie, are you sure that that Torchic doesn't have a trainer this time?" Steven asked as he, Ann and Tristan caught up to her.

"I saw it in the forest sniffing some flowers and no trainer's come forward to claim it. I think it's a pretty safe bet that it doesn't have a trainer." Christie responded as she threw the Pokeball at the Torchic capturing it. "See, what did I tell you?" Christie asked before, to the surprise of her and everyone else the Torchic broke free of the Ball after its capture. "Huh?"

"Well, that's new." Steven admitted as the Torchic walked up to Christie and hugged her leg. "Maybe it's claustrophobic or something?"

"A claustrophobic Pokémon, even I have to admit that's something I've never seen before." Tristan commented as he scratched his head. "Might be worth asking a Nurse Joy about, if anyone would understand Pokémon it's her."

"Maybe your right, still I'll need some place to put it whilst we're walking a long distance or going over water." Christie responded as she started thinking for a bit, she emptied out the front pouch of her backpack, which was where she was keeping her Pokeballs, and held it open for Torchic who happily jumped in.

"You realize that won't work if you intend to evolve it into a Blaziken, right?" Steven pointed out and Christie nodded.

"By then he should be strong enough to walk alongside us." Christie said as she glanced at the Torchic before attaching the other Pokeballs to her belt and putting the rest of the stuff from her backpack's front pouch in the backpack itself. "Besides this is just a temporary measure unless we can't figure out what's wrong with him."

"Let's just hope that Torchic's strong enough to make up for it." Steven responded as he folded his arms and Christie nodded in agreement.

"Oh Christie, that reminds me." Ann chimed in and Christie looked up seeing an Alakazam levitating her hairband. "I noticed your hair was loose so I had Alakazam retrieve your hairband, it's dry to boot."

"Thanks Ann." Christie thanked her before putting her hand underneath the levitating hairband, Alakazam let go of it and she grabbed it before tying her hair back up in a ponytail. "So, what's our next move?"

"It's getting pretty late and we won't reach Pewter for a few hours yet." Steven answered as he checked his watch. "I suggest we camp for the night in Viridian Forrest, we'll be able to use that opportunity to dry off the clothes you took a dive in anyway."

"Very funny, but I agree with you." Christie responded as she rolled her eyes and finished tying her hair back. "I think it'll be good if I let you guys catch up anyway, I mean I did catch four Pokémon on my first day as a trainer."

"I did the same thing when I started my journey but that's still a good idea." Steve admitted and Christie blinked in confusion. "The rest of my Pokémon are with Professor Sycamore back in Kalos, I figured it would be good to get a fresh start."

"I guess it's settled then." Christie nodded before the trio walked off. "See you around Tristian." She called out to him and Tristan waved them off.

"I can guarantee that." Tristan muttered under his breath before reaching into his trench coat pocket and retrieving a pair of Boulder Badges. _"If they are serious about the Pokémon league they'll stop by my gym as soon as they leave Viridian Forrest, luckily that'll take them a few hours as Steven said and I know a shortcut." _Tristan thought before retrieving another Pokeball and throwing it revealing a Skarmory. "Skarmory, fly me back to Pewter City!" Tristan commanded before hopping on Skarmory and the steel type flew off.

*later that night*

By then Steve had found a good spot to rest up in the forest and the trio where sitting around a campfire with their Pokémon out, well besides Christie's Magicarp for obvious reasons and three tents, one for each trainer, had been set up around the camp fire, the clothes that Christie was wearing prior to her dive was drying off on a nearby branch and despite her preference to leaving it tied up Christie had chosen to let her hair loose.

"Steve, how many lame Ghost Stories do you have to tell before you realize that you suck at them?" Christie asked as a large sweat-drop rolled down her head, Steve shook his head at her comment before getting an idea.

"Okay, okay, one more and I will be done, I promise!" Steve responded and his two female companions shared a bored look before nodding. "There once was a beautiful female trainer from Pallet Town who got attacked by a swarm of Beedrill only to be saved by a dashing prince….."

"Okay, that hit a little too close to home!" Christie interrupted him with an angry look on her face and Steve laughed nervously. "As much as I appreciate the complement, anyone have a ghost story to tell that doesn't end with me being knocked out for four hours?"

"Well I was going to say that they got married and lived happily ever after." Steve commented with a nervous grin as Christie glared at him. "Tough crowd….."

"Steve, it's a tough crowd that features a girl who was actually attacked by Beedrill." Ann pointed out with a frown. "I'm just saying."

"And you're already talking about marriage to a girl who you've barely known for a day." Christie added as she shook her head. "I'm not saying I am or anything but what if I turned out to be a lesbian?"

"I'd respect your life-style choice and move on." Steve responded and Christie grinned at that. "And ask for any sex tapes of you and your partner." Steve added causing his two female companions to face-fault.

"Steve, if you actually asked that you'd be more likely to get kicked in the nuts by the lesbian you're asking." Christie pointed out and Steve gulped. "Some of my female friends back in Pallet Town are gay, trust me, I know."

"How did you find that out?" Steve asked with a raised eyebrow and Christie laughed.

"They tried asking me out and I had to tell them that I was straight." Christie responded and Steve shook his head.

"So how many males where disappointed that you weren't going to be getting it on with other girls?" Steve asked and Christie laughed before shaking her head.

"I don't really hang out with the guys in Pallet Town…..which probably was what made my lesbian friends think that I was a lesbian now that I think about it….." Christie trailed off before shaking her head. "It's not that they aren't nice guys but most of the guys around my age who live there are perverts and I've caught them sniffing my panties on more than one occasion."

"I can't believe I'm saying this to a girl who I haven't exactly been subtle about my desire to date her towards….." Steve trailed off and Christie raised an eyebrow. "But I'm willing to bet that they are glad that your dad's dead."

"The fact that my dad's dead doesn't even register with them, if they were caught they had to deal with my mom's Pokémon which includes a Tauros, a Scyther, a really annoying Pidgey, a Dragonite and a Fearrow basically the last Pokémon that you want chasing you chasing after them." Christie responded earning curious looks from Ann and Steven.

"So if that happened, where were you?" Steve asked and Christie leaned back against a tree trunk with a grin on her face.

"I was watching from my bedroom window with a bag of popcorn in my hands." Christie responded causing the others, including their Pokémon, to face-fault. "Well I needed something to do since I wasn't on my Pokémon Journey yet! And that's not counting the other stuff in my room."

"Okay, that is a fair point I'll give you that." Steve responded with a nod. "I never got into anything that….fun….back home in Kalos, hell I was usually the one trying to sneak into girl's bedrooms."

"Steve, you just said that to the girl you're hoping to date one day." Christie pointed out and Steve sweat-dropped as his eyes widened. "Right now the guys back in Pallet Town are looking more appealing, just saying."

"And you wonder why you've been single this long." Ann sighed as she roasted some marshmallows over the fire. "How about we change the subject before Steve digs a hole so big he'll be able to see the rest of Diglett's body?"

"As much as I'd actually like to see that I agree." Christie responded before stretching with a yawn. "I was out for four hours today how the fuck am I still tired?!"

"I don't know, maybe because it's getting late." Steve shrugged his shoulders and Christie gave him an annoyed look. "And you don't need to worry about using swear words around Ann she's heard me use them more than enough times."

"Let me guess, whenever a weakened Pokémon would still break free of the Pokeball you threw at it?" Christie asked and Steve nodded. "My mom always said that she must've spent thousands of dollars on Pokeballs for that reason!"

"I'd believe it." Steve shrugged his shoulders in response. "Christie, if you're tired feel free to go to bed, we'll keep an eye out for trouble."

"Steve, the only wild Pokémon around here is Torchic, Catapees and Weedles how much trouble can those things be?" Christie asked before yawning as did her Evee. "But on the other hand I am shattered." Christie added before standing up, she returned her Pokémon (besides Torchic) to their Pokeballs and went into her tent with her Torchic behind her. "Goodnight guys."

"Goodnight." Steve called after her as she entered her tent and zipped up the entrance, Steve sighed to himself once he was sure that she was asleep. "It wasn't the Pokémon that I was concerned about."

"Yeah, there have been reported sightings of Team Rocket Minions in the area." Ann responded with a nod. "She's still early in her Pokémon Journey though, most trainers in her shoes are naïve enough to believe that it'll be smooth sailing from here on out."

"Well, even with that in mind her Pokémon Journey hasn't exactly been smooth so far." Steve pointed out and Ann nodded in agreement. "The Beedrill attack, falling into the lake, and that's not even getting into the difficulties she's had getting her journey started in the first place." Steve added and Ann nodded.

"Okay, now that she's asleep I can ask you this." Ann said as she shifted her weight. "Christie's a nice girl and all but do you really believe she has potential as a trainer or are you just using that as an excuse to get in her pants?"

"How did I know that question was coming?" Steve asked with an annoyed sigh. "The difference between you and me in regards to Christie is this Ann, I've seen her battle and you haven't." Steve responded with a shrug. "Would I like to be invited into her tent for a night of sex? Yeah, what straight guy wouldn't? But I'd still like to get to know her first, hopefully without fucking up my chances along the way."

"Well, if you say so Steve." Ann sighed before standing up. "But let's face it, I've only seen her catch a Magicarp and a Torchic so far and if she hadn't decided to use Quick Attack to knock it down that Torchic would've gotten away." Ann added before heading into her tent with her Pokémon behind her. "Goodnight Steve."

"Goodnight." Steve responded before stretching and yawning. _"It's definitely been an interesting day to say the least but at least Christie's recovered well from the Beedrill attack." _Steve thought as he got up, put out the campfire and walked towards his tent which was right next to Christie's tent, he momentarily glanced up at the tent where he could just make out Christie's sleeping Shallotte, he shook his head before heading into the tent and zipping it up.


	5. Rock On

Steve woke up with a yawn and could immediately tell that something was wrong, the putrid smell of death was in the air and he looked around as he got out of his sleeping bag.

"Christie? Ann?" Steve called out their names as he opened the door to his tent but got no answer, as soon as he opened the door he found out the reason why and the reason for the stench in the air. "No!" Steve cried out at the site.

Christie's body was the first one he saw, she had been stripped naked and her throat was slit, the remains of her clothes had been ripped apart with the only thing being remotely intact being her bra and her clothes looked like they had been cut apart with a knife of some kind and she had numerous large cuts all over her body among other injuries that where to sickening for Steve to even describe, this was a MO that Steve was all too familiar with and the implications of the scene made him sick to his stomach but so did Ann's body, she hadn't been stripped like Christie but she had been left to bleed out on the floor with their Pokémon nowhere to be seen. "You didn't think you could escape, did you?"

"YOU….." Steve shouted once he recognized the voice and span around seeing a figure whose facial features where hidden by the shade of the tree he was standing under but Steve could see the knife used to murder his friend and his sister. "YOU BASTARD, CHRISTIE WAS INNOCENT! AND ANN….." Steve trailed off as his eyes welled up with tears. "HOW THE HELL COULD YOU DO THAT TO YOUR OWN DAUGHTER?!"

"I'm tying up loose ends boy." The man responded with a grunt as he stepped out revealing the splitting image of Steve but he was clearly older, around the age of Christie's mom. "I killed Ann first and your little girlfriend saw the whole thing, I could've just killed her but I decided to have some….." He trailed off as he grinned perversely. "…fun with her first, brought back some good memories I love it when they struggle." The man added and Steve clenched his fists. "Don't worry you'll be joining them soon!" He added before throwing the knife at Steve…..

"AHHHHHH!" Steve yelled out as he woke up, he started breathing heavily as he ran a hand through his hair. "It…it was just a terrible nightmare…" Steve said in between pants and looked up when he heard the tent door opening, he tensed up as he went for Litleo's Pokeball but let go when he saw Christie and Ann standing by the tent door clearly concerned for him, both girls were in their night gowns whilst Steve was in his pajamas.

"Steve, are you all right?" Christie asked as she stepped into the tent followed by Ann, Christie's Evee and Torchic followed the two girls in and she knelt down. "Ann could hear you screaming from her tent!"

"I'm fine I just had a nightmare, that's all." Steve sighed in response and Christie blinked.

"Steve, those screams were loud enough to wake me up and I'm usually a heavy sleeper." Christie responded as she sat down on the tent floor. "I mean I've had nightmares before but nothing like that!"

"Christie, he's fine, honestly." Ann responded as she walked up to the pair. "You shouldn't worry yourself about this….."

"Ann, that's enough." Steve sighed as he got out of bed and Ann turned to him with a look of surprise on her face. "Look, Christie was honest enough about her dad so I think it's only fair that we open up about our parents."

"Are you sure?" Ann asked and Steve nodded.

"I'm sure." Steve nodded and Christie made herself comfortable. "We never met our biological parents we were too young at the time."

"What do you mean by too young at the time?" Christie asked and Steve sighed.

"You ever heard of the name Eddie Bishop?" Steve asked and Christie shook her head. "You don't follow the news much?"

"Eh, sometimes I have it on in the background but I never really paid attention to it." Christie answered with a shrug. "Who is he?"

"He's our dad and he was a serial murderer/rapist back home in Kalos, according to him our mom was a prostitute who ended up being his first victim." Steve sighed as he thought back and Christie's eyes widened at that. "You see, his MO was to knock out and drag a girl into his truck, take her to a secluded location, wait until she was awake and rape and torture her before slitting her throat and leaving her to bleed out at that location, usually leaving the girl's clothes ripped to shreds around the body, he was eventually caught by a pair of Pokémon trainers who recognized him from his artist depiction on the news, he had been spotted around the time of one of his victim's kidnappings by that victim's boyfriend, and cornered him with a pair of Tauros until the authorities could arrive."

"You don't have to worry about him coming after us." Ann chimed in and Christie turned to her. "He was convicted of all the rape and murders he committed, he was dumb enough to keep a photo album of each of his victims and who he planned to target next in his truck, which he was trying to torch with his Charizard when he was caught, and he's currently on Death Row as a result whilst we were put in foster care."

"That's a relief, the death row part not the part about you guys being in foster care." Christie sighed in relief. "But what does that have to do with the dream you had?"

"It has everything to do with it." Steve responded as he shifted his weight. "In my dream he came back and killed the two of you, besides the truck part he even used his old MO on you Christie." Steve added and Christie shuddered in response. "By the time I had woke up, in the dream that is, you were both already dead and he was about to kill me."

"And you woke up just as he killed you, right?" Christie asked and Steve nodded. "Oh man, this was not something I wanted to kick the morning off with."

"Trust me, the feeling's mutual." Steve sighed in response. "That's part of the reason why I came to Kanto, when I competed in Kalos's Pokémon League I'd get booed just because I shared my dad's surname and whilst I eventually won over the crowd you can imagine how that affected my performance."

"And here I am, complaining about not getting a Pokémon until I was eighteen." Christie sighed as Evee and Torchic leapt into her lap. "You're not going to have that nightmare again right? Not only do I not want to even think about what he did to me in that dream of yours but I do like having a lie-in in the mornings."

"I can't guarantee that but I can understand why." Steve sighed as he shook his head. "How about we have a change of subject?"

"That's a great idea." Christie nodded in response before standing up. "I think getting dressed should be our first priority."

"Yeah, I definitely agree there." Steve said with a nod. _"Especially since I spent the last few minutes trying not to look up her nightgown, why did my first female companion around my age have to be so hot?" _Steve thought as the two girls and Christie's Pokémon left the tent.

"Hey Christie, are you okay with what we told you in there?" Ann asked and Christie turned to her as she entered her tent. "I mean, knowing what our dad did was bad enough but….."

"Well, just thinking about what that bastard did to me in Steve's dream is enough to fuel several weeks' worth of nightmares." Christie responded with a shudder and Ann nodded in understanding. "How do you guys even live with what that bastard did knowing that he is your dad? I mean knowing what he put those women through….."

"We deal with it by saying that we never met him and that our first memories are off foster care to anyone who's familiar with the case." Ann responded and Christie nodded in understanding. "What he did to you in Steve's dream…..he did the same to twenty girls around your age including two cases he denies despite them matching his MO, I read that one of his victims managed to last for an hour before bleeding out, if there's anyone who deserves the Death Penalty it's him."

"I can't help but agree there and I'm usually against the Death Penalty." Christie responded with a shudder and Ann nodded in response. "Can we please change the subject before I'm put off my breakfast? And do any of us know how to cook because I don't!"

"Steve does, don't worry, it's a skill you pick up during your travels." Ann responded with a grin before the two girls entered their tents.

"Man and I thought I had problems." Christie muttered to herself as she closed the tent door and removed her nightgown, the clothes she had worn yesterday had long since dried off but she still couldn't decide what to wear.

"Evee, Evee." The small Pokémon chirped and she looked up seeing the Pokémon holding a pair of denim shorts in its mouth.

"Thanks Evee." Christie responded with a grin as she took the shorts from his mouth and, after wiping off some drool with a handkerchief, she put them on alongside a navy blue crop top before tying her hair up. "Maybe getting some battling done before we reach Pewter City would be a good idea." Christie wondered out loud as she started unzipping the tent door. "It would definitely be good for experience, that's for sure." Christie added as she opened up the tent and saw Steve cooking something over the campfire.

"Good morning Christie." He greeted her as she stepped out of the tent followed by her Pokémon. "You're not a vegetarian, right?"

"Are you kidding? The day I go vegetarian is the day hell freezes over!" Christie responded with a grin as she walked up to him and sat down on the ground. "What are you cooking?"

"I'm cooking some sausages for breakfast." Steve responded as he held them up. "We're definitely going to have to buy some cooking supplies once we're in Pewter City but for now camp fire roasted sausages will have to do." Steve added as Christie sat down on the ground. "So, besides me waking you up with the nightmare about my dad, how are you this morning?"

"My ribs are feeling a lot better already hopefully I'll be able to remove the bandages by the time we leave Pewter City." Christie responded as she glanced around. "By the way, where's Ann?"

"Oh she went back to Viridian City to get some supplies, she won't be long." Steve responded as he continued to cook the sausages. "Look, about what I told you about my dad, if you want to continue on your Pokémon journey alone because of what I told you I'll understand."

"Steve, your dad may have been a monster but it's clear to me that your nothing like him." Christie responded and Steve smiled at that. "I'll just have to omit that little fact from mom the next time I talk to her."

"Oh yeah, finding out that your daughter's hanging out with the son of a serial rapist/murderer who targeted girls around the same age as your daughter? Somehow I don't think she's going to be okay with that." Steve responded with a wince and Christie nodded in response. "And I bet it puts my comments about sneaking into girls rooms last night in a whole new light to boot."

"I had completely forgotten about those comments to be honest." Christie admitted with a shrug. "But now that you mention it they kind off do."

"Believe it or not it was the only way I could even get close to any girl that I liked back in Kalos." Steve admitted with a sigh before checking on the sausages. "What my dad did was in the national newspapers and it was easier to find dads who did know about his crimes than dads who didn't." Steve added before putting some sausages on a plate and passing it to Christie alongside a knife and fork.

"Thanks." Christie thanked him as she started eating the food. "So they wouldn't let you anywhere near their daughters?"

"A couple even tried to get a restraining order against me just because of who my dad was." Steve sighed as he started preparing more sausages. "Their request was denied once the judge realized that I, like you said, am nothing like my dad but it eventually got to the point where I had enough." Steve added as she shifted his weight. "After we competed in the Kalos league I had a talk with Ann and we agreed that we needed to go to another region, you know the rest." Steve added and Christie shook her head.

"If that's not bullshit I don't know what is." Christie responded and Steve gave her a curious look. "Not your story before you ask, I believe that well enough, but the fact that they held who your related too against you whilst never giving you a chance."

"You have no idea how much it means to me to hear that, thanks." Steve thanked her and Christie grinned at that. "The prejudice mostly came from the parents, basically people who were old enough to be around at the time of the murders, everyone else was friendly too me."

"What about Ann?" Christie asked as she shifted her weight. "She's, what, twelve, thirteen?"

"She's turning thirteen this year actually." Steve responded with a nod. "She was just a baby at the time of the murders and I told her the truth once I felt that she was old enough to understand it all."

"Maybe it's just me but I don't think twelve years old is old enough to understand something like that." Christie responded and Steve shook his head.

"Normally it wouldn't be but she matured pretty quickly, mentally speaking." Steve responded and Christie nodded. "She told me that her time in foster care was the cause of that, to put in perspective we weren't adopted until I was sixteen, two years ago." Steve explained and Christie blinked. "By then I already had my own Pokemon." Steve said as he dug out a Pokeball and opened it revealing a tall, humanoid fox with red and yellow fur and a long tail, Christie dug out her Pokedex and pointed it at the Pokemon.

"_Delphox, the Fox Pokemon and the fully evolved form of Fennikin, using psychic power, it generates a fiery vortex of __5,400 degree Fahrenheit__, incinerating foes swept into this whirl of flame."_ The Pokedex entry read out and she pocketed it once it was finished.

"Fennikin's one of the Kalos starters, the others being Froakie and Chespin." Steve responded as Delphox turned to him. "She's a new friend Delphox." Steve told the Pokemon who turned to Christie seemingly analyzing the new trainer. "Ann has Froakie, or rather it's evolved form Greninja, and I don't really know who took the third starter."

"Well it seems like you've trained your Delphox well." Christie commented as she finished her food and set the plate aside, Evee and Torchic approached the taller Pokemon curiously and Delphox looked at them before kneeling down and sitting down on the ground. "Speaking of fire types, whatever happened to the Charizard your dad owned?"

"The authorities released it into the wild." Steve responded as he started cooking more sausages. "My dad never used it in his crimes, besides trying to destroy evidence but the Tauros trainers managed to stop that before Charizard could fire a flamethrower, so rather than put it down they decided to give it a second chance." Steve added before frowning. "And here's the weird part, I now own that Charizard."

"…..wait, what?" Christie asked as she stared at Steve like he had grown a second head. "Are you serious?"

"Deadly serious, no pun intended." Steve sighed as he shifted his weight. "I encountered that Charizard after winning my third badge in the Kalos League, I know it sounds strange but I think the Charizard knew that I was his former master's son and let me catch him."

"Your right, that is weird." Christie nodded in response. "What happened to it?"

"He's still alive but the Charizard has been alive for a long time, Sycamore thinks that he's nearing the end of his life." Steve responded with a sad sigh. "Rather than release it again I left him with him at his lab with my other Pokémon, he said that he'd call me if the Charizard does pass on but when he does I think he'll be able to die happy."

"I don't understand." Christie commented and Steve nodded.

"Well I talked with Sycamore after I captured it and he theorized that the Charizard knew that his former master was evil despite never being used in his crimes, I took that Pokémon to the Kalos League and you know what? I didn't need to understand what Charizard was saying to know that it was having the time of his life." Steve responded and Christie nodded getting the idea. "I realized that all this time all that Charizard wanted was to battle and be successful at it, I don't think he ever did that when he was my dad's Pokémon."

"I'm assuming he evolved it from a Charmander." Christie responded and Steve nodded. "Charmander and Charmeleon evolve by level, how did he pull that off?"

"My theory is that he just had it battle wild Pokémon and trainers, he never went after any of the badges but that must've been how it evolved." Steve responded and Christie nodded as Steve turned to Delphox who was playing with Christie's Pokémon. "At least they are getting alone."

"I agree." Ann's voice rang out and Christie looked up seeing her approaching them with a bag of groceries alongside other items in her possession. "I've brought some actual cooking equipment so you won't have to resort to cooking like a caveman." Ann said as she got some pots and pans out alongside some food items. "And I got some Pokemon food alongside Pokemon items like Revive and Potion."

"Good call, we're going to need those items if we can't find any decent Water Pokemon before we reach Pewter City." Steve responded with a nod as he took the pots and pans. "At least I have an advantage Delphox here is a duel type Fire/Psychic Pokemon."

"Yeah, I've been thinking about that." Christie commented as Steve passed her another plate of sausages alongside some for Ann. "I'm thinking that we should try to get some battles done before we reach Pewter City, I mean your Pokémon are powerful but me? All I've got is Evee, Torchic, Spearow, Pidgey and a Magicarp."

"Yeah, your chances aren't looking good going into that gym battle." Steve agreed with a nod as he plated up some sausages for himself. "Evee's fast but I don't think he'll make a dent in any of the gym leader's Pokémon, sending Pidgey and Spearow into battle against him may as well be asking for defeat, Torchic maybe your best chance but it's untested and Fire Types have a disadvantage against Rock Types to boot."

"And don't even get me started on Magicarp." Christie responded as she ate the sausages. "So, what's your best suggestion as far as me and my Pokémon getting more experience?"

"Well, I doubt a battle against either me or Ann will help because, well, we have more experience than you and we both know how our Pokémon Battle went." Steve responded and Christie nodded in response. "There should be some trainers around, finding them and challenging them is another question."

"Since I'm the one with the least experience out of the three of us I call first dibs on any trainer we see." Christie insisted and the others shared a look before nodding in agreement. "After that…..who's the least experienced out of you guys?"

"That would be Ann." Steve responded as he got the idea. "So your idea is that we decide the battle order based on experience going up, Christie, Ann and me?" Steve asked and Christie nodded in agreement. "You know what? Why don't we just apply that rule to battles in general rather than these specific set of battles? It's a good way to keep things nice and ordered and we'll avoid any arguments over who gets to battle."

"I think that's a great idea." Ann responded with a nod before turning to Christie who nodded in agreement. "I guess it's settled."

"There's only one place I can see that rule not working, the Pokemon League." Christie pointed out with a frown after thinking for a few minutes. "I mean, those things are tournaments that are held annually and I don't think they'll let us have any say about the order."

"You have a point there Christie." Steve admitted with a nod. "Not to mention the high possibility of us facing off in that tournament."

"If that happens, may the best trainer win and let's not let it affect our friendships." Christie responded and the other two trainers grinned before nodding. "And that off course means that I'll win the whole thing!" Christie added causing Steve and Ann to face-fault.

"You have a serious ego problem, you know that right?" Steve asked as he got to his feet and Christie just shrugged her shoulders. "I'm serious, being ambitious is all well and good but thinking that you're going to win the whole Pokémon league with your current party?"

"I never said that this was going to be my Pokémon team by the time I have all eight badges." Christie asserted as her eyes narrowed. "For one thing I think it's pretty obvious that Fearow, Pidgey, Magicarp and Torchic will evolve by then."

"Okay, that is a good point." Steve consented before pointing to Evee. "But what about your Evee? Unlike the rest of your team he doesn't evolve by leveling up and he has more than one Evolved form."

"I'll get to that." Christie responded as she folded her arms. "Right now the only Pokémon that I know about as far as Evee's evolved forms go are the ones that evolve via stones."

"Right, you mean Volteon, Flareon and Vaporeon." Steve said and Christie nodded. "As we've already established there's five other forms to choose from so choosing which one you want will be difficult."

"In a way I'm hoping to get a Water Stone before we get to Pewter City." Christie responded after thinking for a couple of minutes. "After all Vaporeon is a Water Type and it'll give me an advantage."

"But a disadvantage against the Water, Grass and Thunder gyms and guess what? The Water and Thunder gyms are the second and third gyms." Steve pointed out with a frown. "Just saying, preparing for only one gym is pretty short sighted."

"Are you guys done arguing?" Ann asked as she pinched the bridge of her nose in annoyance. "First off, Steve don't you think your being harsh on her? This will be her first Pokémon league so of course she has high hopes going into it! Second the remaining sausages are burning." Ann added and Steve quickly pulled the sausages from the fire but it was too late, the sausages where burnt to the point of being inedible.

"Oh great," Steve moaned as he tossed the sausages into a nearby river. "Thanks Christie!"

"Me? You're the one who burned the damn things!" Christie asserted and Ann face-palmed.

"If I didn't know any better I'd say that you two where a married couple!" Ann sighed to herself and the two teens gave her a dirty look each.

"Look, arguing's getting us nowhere and we've already eaten a good amount of sausages anyway." Steve responded with a sigh and Christie nodded in agreement. "Ann, did you get more sausages whilst you were in Viridian City?"

"That and more, got some steak, some bacon, spent about a hundred dollars in total." Christie responded and Christie's jaw dropped. "Before you ask Christie, we still have a lot of money left over from the Kalos region."

"I wouldn't have sent her there if I wasn't confident that she did." Steve added and Christie sighed in relief. "Anyway I think we should get a move on soon, especially if we want to get some battling done." Steve added and the two girls nodded in agreement before standing up. "Okay, I'll be helping Ann take her tent down, are you going to be okay taking yours down Christie?"

"It'll be no sweat!" Christie said confidently as she walked up to her tent. "I've been camping before…..granted the last time I went camping was when I was a little girl…."

"Right, well if you need some help just give me a shout." Steve responded and Christie nodded in response before she started taking down her tent.

"_What am I worried about?" _Christie thought as she started taking down her tent. _"I was able to put it up within ten minutes last night so taking it down should take just as long!"_

"Hey there gorgeous." A male voice rang out as she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders. "What are you doing all alone in a forest like this?"

"First off, I'm not alone!" Christie grunted in annoyance as she tried to ignore the pervert. "Second, I'm trying to pull my tent down….."

"Screw that, why don't you let me pull those shorts down and tap that ass?" The male interrupted her and before Christie could even respond he slapped her on the ass.

"_Okay not only is this asshole a pervert but he's making Steve look subtle!" _Christie thought before grabbing the male's arm and forcibly removing it from her shoulders. "Third, you have ten seconds to leave me alone before I let my Torchic roast your tiny dick!" Christie added before grinning. "Besides, that's probably how long you normally last in bed!" Christie added before letting go off the arm.

"Oh so you're a trainer huh?" The man asked with a grin and it was at this point that she got a good look at him, he was tall and had a shaved head and brown eyes, and he was wearing a black t-shirt, blue jeans and black boots. "Why don't we make this interesting then?"

"Sorry but I lost interest in that the moment you slapped my ass!" Christie interrupted him before noticing that he had several Pokeballs. "But on the other hand I do need some practice before I take on the Pewter Gym!" "Christie added as she paused for a minute. _"Evee, Torchic and Pidgey should do the trick."_

"Christie, I thought you were pulling down your tent?" Steve asked as he and Ann approached them.

"I was." Christie said as she glanced over at them. "But this asshole over here decided to try hitting on me with the subtlety of a sledgehammer and slapped my ass to boot." Christie added before turning to him. "Here are my terms, I win and, on top of the prize money, you help me finish taking down my tent and leave me alone!"

"Fine but I have some terms of my own." The pervert responded before walking up to her. "I win and we go deeper into the forest and….." The pervert whispered the rest of the sentence into Christie's ear and whilst he couldn't hear it he could tell what he meant by the look of disgust on Christie's face.

"You're not actually going to agree to that, are you?" Steve asked and Christie turned to him. "I couldn't hear what he said but based on the look on your face I'm going to assume his end of the bargain involve a sexual act."

"It involved several actually." Christie responded with a frown. "But if it gets him to leave me alone I'll have to make do."

"And if he wins?" Ann asked and Christie sighed.

"My mom always told me to hold up my end of the bargain." Christie responded and Steve frowned.

"I'm pretty sure essentially selling sex isn't what she had in mind Christie." Steve pointed out and Christie shook her head.

"I agree with you there, don't get me wrong, but that won't stop me from going through with it if I lose." Christie responded as she pressed the button on a Pokeball. "This'll just have to be another omission the next time I call her if I lose."

"And if you, god forbid, end up pregnant?" Steve asked and she shook her head.

"I'll force him to put on a condom before we even get started, even if I have to put the damn thing on myself!" Christie responded and the male laughed.

"You're implying that I have condoms on hand lady!" The male responded before activating a Pokeball. "But let's get started! Go Zubat!" The thug tossed the Pokeball and the blue bat Pokémon emerged from it.

"_A Zubat, this should be easy enough." _Christie thought before glancing over at Torchic. "Are you ready for your first battle Torchic?"

"Torchic!" The fire Pokémon responded before running in front of its trainer and glaring at the Zubat.

"I guess that makes me the ref!" Steve said as he stepped in between the two trainers. "Okay, first Pokémon are out, how many Pokémon each?"

"I'm sure she's eager to see how big my cock is so I say two Pokémon each!" The male responded and Christie rolled her eyes.

"Since I want to get this over and done with I agree." Christie responded and the pervert grinned perversely. "But if you think I'm going to go down that easy….."

"Think? That's what I'm HOPING you'll do!" The pervert interrupted her and Christie's eyes narrowed.

"…Torchic, hit this asshole's Pokémon with an Ember!" Christie commanded and the small fire type Pokémon started firing fireballs at the Zubat.

"Dodge them!" The pervert commanded and Zubat dodged two of the three fireballs. "Now, Supersonic….." The pervert's order never went through as the Ember hit the Zubat knocking it out. "WHAT?"

"Zubat is out of the Battle, Torchic wins!" Steve announced and Christie grinned at that whilst the pervert called back the Zubat. "Okay Christie, are you sticking with Torchic?"

"I am for now, yeah." Christie responded with a nod as Torchic cried happily…..before one of Christie's Pokeballs opened suddenly and Magicarp appeared on the field.

"Hey this isn't a double battle!" The pervert protested and Christie quickly called back the Magicarp. "You like it rough huh?"

"Not a word Steve!" Christie warned him as he started whistling innocently.

"I'll show you rough! Houndour, go!" The pervert sent out the Pokeball and a large, dog like Pokémon with silver body parts emerged from the Pokeball.

"A Houndour…..Christie you'd better recall Torchic, that thing's a duel Dark/Fire Type." Steve warned her and Christie nodded.

"Don't need to tell me twice." Christie said as the Torchic left the field and she grabbed another Pokeball. "Spearow, you're up!" Christie tossed the ball and the flying type emerged from it seconds later.

"A Spearow's the best you can do huh? Houndour, show her a real ember attack!" The pervert commanded and the Pokemon started firing fireballs at the flying type.

"Blow them away with Gust!" Christie commanded and the Spearow flapped it wings generating winds strong enough to extinguish the flames. "Now, Peck!" Christie commanded and the Spearow divebombed at the Houndour.

"Give her a love bite!" The pervert commanded and the Houndour charged towards the Spearow.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say that he meant to tell his Pokemon to use Bite." Steve commented as a large sweat-drop rolled down his head.

"I hope so." Christie gulped but, much to her relief, the attack hit Spearow at the same time as Spearow's Peck sending both Pokemon flying back.

"He's weak, Houndour, finish this off quickly so I can tap that ass, Ember!" The pervert commanded as the Houndour got to his feet and fired the Embers at the Spearow.

"Spearow, Fury Attack!" Christie commanded and the Spearow flew towards the Houndour dodging the fireballs and hitting the Houndour several times knocking it out.

"And that's two for two! Christie's the clear winner!" Steve said as he held up Christie's hand in celebration, the pervert growled before storming up not even bothering to return the Houndour to its ball. "You lost, now help her set up the tent and….." Steve never got a chance to finish as he threw him to the ground and pinned Christie to a tree.

"You really thought I actually agreed to your stupid terms? I had my fingers crossed! Now hurry up and suck my YOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!" However like Steve he never got a chance to finish as he leapt into the air clenching his burning backside in pain.

"Thanks Torchic." Christie thanked him but the Torchic shook his head. "It wasn't you?"

"It wasn't Litleo or Delphox either they are still in their Pokeballs." Steve responded as she turned to him before he realized something, "It was his Houndour!" Steve responded and Christie looked up seeing the Houndour back on his feet and angry at his trainer.

"You traitor, I've been using you and Zubat to get lucky and this is how you treat me!?" The pervert demanded and the Houndour fired up another Ember. "Screw this! You're on your own!" The pervert said before running off.

"You know, I had a feeling he wasn't going to stick to his word." Ann commented and the others nodded in agreement as Houndour walked up to them. "So what do we do with him?"

"It's pretty obvious to me that he abandoned him." Steve responded before turning to Christie. "Maybe you should take him? He seems pretty strong and he'll give you an advantage against the Rock and Psychic Gyms."

"I thought we agreed that I was going to let you guys catch up?" Christie asked but the others held up Pokeballs containing new Pokemon, one each.

"Ann caught a male Nidoran on the way back and I caught a female one whilst you were arguing with him." Steve responded with a nod. "Trust me, we're caught up."

"Is this what you want?" Christie asked and the Houndour nodded before nudging over his Pokeball. "Then welcome to the team Houndour!" Christie added and the Houndour howled happily before Christie returned it to his Pokeball.

"That Houndour packs a punch I think he'll be perfect for your team." Steve responded and Christie nodded as she returned Spearow to his ball. "Come on, we finished your tent for you so let's get going." Steve told her and Christie grinned as she was handed over the bag containing her tent and her sleeping bag and the group walked off.


	6. Sibling Rivalry

Note: The character of Dalton wasn't created by me he was created by Wildlian whose profile can be found here u/4223042/

It had been a few minutes since Christie's first trainer battle win and the trio was still walking through Viridian Forrest on their way to Pewter City to challenge their first Kanto Gym, Christie had been silent since the battle as she was looking at the Pokeball that now contained her Houndour.

"Are you okay Christie?" Steve asked as he looked up at her. "I mean, you haven't said a word since that battle and I know how ugly it almost got if it weren't for Houndour."

"I'm fine." Christie responded as she brushed her hair behind her ear. "Besides, that asshole would've never got a chance to unzip his jeans even if Houndour hadn't rebelled against him." Christie added before pointing to her right knee. "Because this knee would've gone right up his balls and he wouldn't have gone any further."

"Wait, seriously?" Ann asked as she looked up. "How do you know that that would've worked?"

"I've had plenty of practice over the years." Christie shrugged and Steve gulped.

"Err, Ann, can we trade places before she decides to practice on me?" Steve asked and Christie laughed.

"Steve, you only have to worry about that if you try to force yourself on me and somehow I don't think that's going to happen." Christie responded and Steve sighed in relief.

"Actually, just a quick question, how DID you practice kicking boys in the nuts?" Steve asked before pausing for a bit. "Out of all the questions I expected to ask today that was the last one."

"I didn't practice by kicking boys in the nuts, I'm pretty sure that I would've been expelled from school long ago if that was the case." Christie responded as she shook her head. "I was a sporting girl in school and my main sport was soccer."

"That explains how well toned your legs are." Steve commented as he glanced towards her legs. "So, if you don't mind me asking, how good where you at it?"

"You mean nut kicking or soccer?" Christie asked and Steve shook his head with a laugh. "I was good, I mean if I never got my own Pokémon I was considering taking up Soccer as a pro, unfortunately that's not going to happen, remember when I mentioned that I broke my leg the week before my second attempt at getting a Pokémon?" Christie asked and Steve nodded. "That accident caused a permanent injury to my leg, the doctors said I was lucky to be able to walk again and I wasn't able to play soccer as well as I could in the past so I had to give it up."

"Christie, who exactly did you piss off in a past life to get that much bad luck?" Steve asked and Christie shook her head.

"I don't know but to be honest, I think the fact that I've taken to Pokémon battles so quickly tells me that it was my true calling anyway." Christie added before frowning. "Speaking of which, I've battled, so I guess it's you guys' turn to battle."

"Well you where the one who suggested it in the first place, off course I improved upon your idea but that's beside the point." Steve added and Christie rolled her eyes.

"And you say that I have an ego problem?" Christie asked and Steve frowned.

"Christie, you're a rookie trainer who thinks she can win the Pokemon league despite knowing that there's bound to be a trainers with a lot more experience than you competing, including me and Ann, I'm a trainer who's competed in a Pokemon League before, big difference." Steve pointed out and Ann cleared her throat.

"Are you guys going to argue all the time? And if yes then I should probably buy some popcorn when we reach Pewter City." Ann responded and the two teens face-faulted at her comment. "And besides Steve, you were a rookie going into the Kalos League and you had similar ambitions, just saying."

"And I ended up finishing in the Top 32, just saying." Steve responded as he shook his head. "Look, I'm not saying that there isn't a possibility that Christie won't do better than me when we reach the Pokemon League but unlike her I didn't have to wait until I was eighteen to get my first Pokemon!"

"Urge to kick Steve in the balls, rising….." Christie warned him and Steve sweat-dropped when he remembered that she was walking next to him.

"And I'm ready to change the subject, any objections? No? Good!" Steve said quickly with a nervous laugh. "Speaking of Pewter City…." Steve trailed off as he checked his Town Map. "If my guess is correct, which it often is, we should reach Pewter City by about four o'clock this afternoon and finish our gym battles by about nine." Steve added before returning the map to his bag. "All in favor of staying the night at the Pewter City Pokemon Center say I, all in favor of spending another night in the tents….."

"Pokemon Center," The two girls interrupted him simultaneously and Steve sweat-dropped.

"As fun as camping is I'll take a warm, comfy bed over a sleeping bag any day of the week and we'll be able to have Nurse Joy heal up our Pokemon whilst we're at it." Christie added and Ann nodded in agreement.

"Besides, we don't want you to burn any more sausages." Ann added and Steve face-faulted.

"That only happened twice and that was because Christie started arguing with me!" Steve asserted and Christie rolled her eyes. "Besides, you girls enjoyed having my sausage in your mouths…Jesus Christ I just said that out loud and in public!" Steve realized as he blushed furiously and the two girls snickered at that. "At least I'm not worse than that pervert you battled Christie."

"Steve, the only way you could be worse than him as if you had dropped all pretenses and pulled down my shorts without hitting on me, at which point I would've punched you in the balls before you could even get my panties off!" Christie pointed before shaking her head. "Oh god, we're seriously having this conversation in public!"

"At least we're not having it in Pewter City!" Ann pointed out and the two teens sweat-dropped at that. "Or worse, you could be having it at the Pokemon League on camera!"

"As much as I'd like to believe that the cameramen would've stopped us BEFORE we embarrassed ourselves on TV in that scenario….let's just say that we know it from experiences suffered during the Kalos Pokemon League." Steve added and Christie face-palmed. "All I'm going to say is that it involved my Charizard, a female opponent and me dropping more sexual innuendo than a Porno Movie!"

"…..is that even possible?!" Christie asked and the two siblings nodded.

"He found a way and it wasn't until the interview was over that he realized what he had said." Ann responded and Christie laughed at that. "He tried to save face but there was no way anyone was going to let him live that down!"

"Yet another reason why I decided to move to Kanto!" Steve added and Christie shook her head whilst continuing to laugh her ass off. "I'm just hoping that by the time we reach the Pokemon League the incident will be forgotten about."

"Err, yeah, good luck with that." Christie said as a large sweat-drop rolled down her head.

"Something like that happened to you, didn't it?" Steve asked and Christie nodded in response.

"Not exactly, more like happened to someone else." Christie responded before stifling a giggle at the memory. "Okay, I think by now you guys have figured out that I'm not exactly a virgin, right?" Christie asked and the two siblings nodded. "I almost lost my virginity…..but I didn't."

"…okay, how does that even work?" Steve asked whilst staring at Christie like she had just grown three heads. "Are you one of those girls who believe in Anal Virginity or something? And that is a question I was not expecting to ask today!"

"I wasn't expecting to be asked it." Christie added with a small grin. "And no, I'm not that naïve! The first time I had sex…let's just say that my partner had…..problems….." Christie trailed off and Steve started laughing his ass off when he heard that and figured out what she meant.

"He…..he…..he prematurely ejaculated?!" Steve asked in between fits of laughter and the two girls merely giggled as Christie nodded. "How long before he became the laughing stock of Pallet Town? Be honest!"

"Barely a day, I told my girlfriend about it…and by that I mean a girl who happened to be a friend and not my lesbian partner…..not saying I'm a Lesbian or anything even if that incident did tempt me…..and even if I did experiment with Girl on Girl for a time….." Christie trailed off and Steve covered her mouth.

"Christie, take a deep breath and calm down before your ramblings cause you to dig a hole so deep that you can find Pokemon Fossils without the use of Rock Smash." Steve instructed her and Christie did so before Steve removed his hand. "So, you were saying about the guy? And do you have any vids of your experimenting days?"

"First off, you wish!" Christie responded with a laugh and Steve sighed in resignation. "Like I said, I talked with a friend who I knew from the soccer team about it and she happened to be a chatterbox, thanks to her every other person in their late teens knew….and then the parents found out, they weren't exactly happy."

"Oh boy…." Steve trailed off with a wince. "How did your mom react?"

"Same way you did." Christie responded and Steve stared at her. "She's not exactly a prude on the subject I mean she's a single mom who raised me from the age of ten until I was eighteen on her own for fuck's sake! She had to give me the Pidgeys and the Beedrills speech and be there for my first period…."

"And let's end that conversation BEFORE I get more nightmares!" Steve interrupted her as he started sweating bullets. "What about the other parents?"

"My partner's parents had to move to Cinnabar Island and we had to end that relationship because my mom wasn't willing to move." Christie commented as she shook her head. "After my experimenting phase ended I had a few more boyfriends but nothing permanent, like I said before most of the boys around my age in Pallet Town are perverts."

"And I'm the lesser of two evils." Steve commented with a grin and Christie shook her head. "What?"

"In descending order, you're behind that guy I just battled and the perverts in Pallet Town." Christie responded and Steve face-faulted. "And no, I don't mean that you're worse than that asshole."

"Good, we need to report him for Attempted Rape as soon as we find an Officer Jenny anyway." Steve commented and Christie shook her head.

"Don't, I mean that guy didn't even get his pants off so really it was more like assault than anything else even if it was clear that he would've resorted to that if I had refused, besides he probably will try the whole she wanted it routine based on the way I'm dressed if we tried that." Christie responded with a frown. "Besides, I've already been attacked by Beedrill and that worried my mom enough."

"Fine, we'll report him for assault in that case." Steve responded with a sight. "Why don't we change the subject before we start talking about my dad again?"

"Yeah, I'd rather not go down that road again." Christie commented as she pocketed her hands. "How long have we been walking for? Something like twenty, thirty minutes? Maybe we should stop for a rest?"

"It's thirty minutes by my watch." Steve commented once he checked his watch before getting his map out again. "I thought you were a soccer star in school anyway?"

"A Soccer Star who had to retire because of a leg injury!" Christie pointed out and Steve nodded in response. "I don't know the details but the basics of it are that my mobility in my right leg is pretty impeded, you probably noticed me walking with an occasional limp."

"I did, I just assumed that it was because of the trip you took whilst running from the Beedrill swarm." Steve responded and she shook her head.

"Running is hard enough for me, running whilst trying to avoid Beedrill stingers? I'm surprised I didn't trip sooner and I probably would've lost Torchic if I hadn't used Evee to stop it from getting away." Christie added with a frown. "Anyway, we were talking about Pewter City?"

"Yeah, we were." Steve responded with a nod as he checked his map. "We're still a few hours removed from Pewter City but if you want to rest and recharge your batteries there is a clearing nearby where we can rest."

"How far is "nearby"?" Christie asked and Steve checked the map again, however before he could answer her question Christie spotted a Pikachu running towards the trio, more specifically her, and before they could do anything the Pikachu leapt up.

"Pika!" The mouse Pokémon yelled out happily before landing and making itself comfy…in between Christie's breasts.

"Err, Christie….." Steve trailed off as he tried not to laugh as she blushed furiously. "It seems you've made a friend…."

"Yes, I know….." Christie grunted as she tried to remove the Pikachu from her breasts to no avail. "Steve if you say a word of this to mom we'll be roasting your balls over the campfire the next time we stop for camp now help me get it off me!"

"…you're actually asking me to put my hands near your breasts?" Steve asked with a grin and Christie glared at him. "You considered trying to capture it? I mean, wild Pikachu are pretty common in this area."

"Yes, because I can totally throw a Pokeball at something nuzzled in between my breasts!" Christie snapped at him. "And that's another sentence I wasn't expecting to say today!"

"Oh crap, Pikachu return!" A male voice rang out and before Steve could respond the light from a Pokeball engulfed the Pikachu calling it back to its master. "Sorry about that."

"I can't believe I'm actually about to say this…." Christie trailed off as she blushed furiously. "But I was just sexually harassed by your Pikachu! Sorry's not going to cut it!"

"Look it's…..wow that is a weird sentence." The male said before stepping into view, he was a few inches shorter than Steve and around Steve and Christie's age but still pretty tall with short brown hair underneath a red baseball cap and blue eyes and was wearing a black t-shirt over a red overcoat, fingerless gloves and blue jeans. "Anyway, it's not my fault! My Pikachu just loves human girls for some reason!"

"What is this, a day of weird sentences?" Ann muttered under her breath and Christie rolled her eyes.

"Look, maybe we should start from Christie's boobs I mean the top!" Steve corrected himself once he saw the glare that she was giving him. "I'm Steve, that's my little sister Ann and as I mentioned Christie's the one your Pikachu groped."

"And if you value still having your genitals you'll never mention that again!" Christie warned him and Steve laughed nervously. "Not when my mom's around and especially not on TV!"

"Err, yeah…." The youth trailed off as he rubbed the back of his head nervously. "My name's Dalton and I'm from Viridian City, I started my Pokémon Journey a couple of weeks ago."

"And I just started mine." Christie responded clearly still angry over his Pikachu. "And so far I've been attacked by Beedrill, hit on by some asshole wouldn't take no for an answer….and Steve to a lesser extent and just now I got groped by your Pikachu." Christie added as a progressively larger sweat-drop rolled down the others heads. "So yeah, it hasn't exactly gone great for me!" Christie added with a frown.

"Err, yeah, look I can tell your frustrated but maybe a battle could help?" Dalton offered and Christie shook her head.

"I was just in a battle but Ann wasn't." Christie said as she turned to Ann who nodded before stepping forward. "Just promise me one thing, either Pikachu stays in the ball or you try to keep him from groping me again, deal?"

"You got it but I can't really make any promises." Dalton responded before turning to Ann. "How many Pokémon do you have?"

"Four of them and I can see three Pokeballs from here." Ann responded as she grabbed one of her Pokeballs. "So, how about three Pokémon each?"

"You got it! Go Butterfree!" Dalton threw the Pokeball and the large, blue butterfly Pokémon emerged from it.

"_A Butterfree? He likely raised it from a Caterpie." _Steve thought as Ann grabbed a Pokeball. _"If he was battling me I would've sent out Litleo or Delphox but it's not like Ann's short of options."_

"Alakazam, I chose you!" Ann tossed the Pokeball and the Psychic Type Pokémon emerged from it. _"I may not have any Fire-Types but I've had Alakazam since he was an Abra and he's at a high level, this should be a piece of cake."_

"Anyone mind if I ref the match?" Christie asked, apparently having calmed down since the groping incident, and the two trainers nodded. "Okay, three Pokémon each, first trainer to knock out the other's Pokémon wins, anything I'm forgetting?"

"Well there is the no stealing Pokémon thing but I think that goes without saying." Dalton responded and Christie nodded.

"Then begin!" Christie called out and the two trainers grinned.

"Alakazam, Psychic!" Christie commanded and Alakazam's spoons started glowing….

"Butterfree, Stun Spore!" Dalton commanded and the Butterfree started flapping its wins at the Psychic Type Pokémon as it fired a beam of light at Butterfree, the two attacks met but the Stun Spore stood no chance against the Psychic attack. "Dodge it!" Dalton commanded and the Butterfree moved out of the way with impressive speed and the attack was sent flying off into the sky.

"Okay, that Butterfree's surprisingly fast." Steve admitted as he folded his arms. "Also if that Psychic hits something like a Tailow Ann gets first dibs."

"Yeah well, this should slow him down! Alakazam, Psybeam!" Ann commanded and Alakazam fired another beam at the Butterfree…..

"Butterfree, Protect!" Dalton called out and the Butterfree formed a protective barrier which the Psybeam bounced off of. "It'll take more than just brute force to beat me!"

"You realize that you'll have to attack at some point right?" Christie asked and Dalton nodded. "Defensive moves are good and all but relying only on them won't get you very far, what next? Harden?"

"I had Butterfree forget that move as soon as it evolved from Metapod but that's beside the point!" Dalton responded before pointing to Butterfree. "Butterfree, Whirlwind!" Dalton commanded and the butterfly Pokémon started flapping its wings as hard as it could, Alakazam braced it's self as the wind hit nearly knocking him over.

"_I need something that he can't protect against." _Ann thought before getting an idea. "Alakazam, use Future Site!" Ann commanded and the Psychic Type's eyes started glowing for a few seconds before stopping. _"I hope this works!"_

"Butterfree, use Supersonic!" Dalton commanded and the Butterfree let out a high pitched screech that clearly disoriented Alakazam.

"What was that?" Christie asked as she rubbed her ear in pain.

"What did you say?" Steve asked as he too rubbed his ear in pain.

"Now let's bring this to a close! Butterfree, Gust!" Dalton commanded and the Butterfree started flapping its wings again…..only to be hit with a Psychic attack that sent it the ground knocking it out. "What the….."

"Future Site, did you forget that I used that move?" Ann asked with a grin.

"I don't follow." Christie commented as she scratched her head and Steve whispered in her ear.

"Future Site predicts a move that will happen in two or more turns, the attack is powerful and hardly ever misses." Steve responded and Christie nodded in response.

"Butterfree's out cold, Alakazam wins." Christie announced as Dalton called back his Butterfree. "Dalton's down two to three, what will he follow it up with?"

"A Pokémon that you're very familiar with, go Pikachu!" Dalton threw the ball and the yellow mouse Pokémon appeared from it.

"Pika!" The Pikachu let out an excited cry upon seeing Christie again and started making his way to her.

"Oh no, you don't!" Christie said as she stepped aside as the Pikachu leapt at her and instead of landing in her breasts again he hit the ground. "Dalton, if your Pikachu tries that again I'm disqualifying you, got it?"

"Fine, Pikachu, please don't grope the designated ref for this match again!" Dalton commanded him and the Pikachu moaned before returning to the field. "That has got to be the first time in Pokémon history that that sentence has been uttered."

"Once again, it's a day of weird sentences." Ann deadpanned before holding up Alakazam's Pokeball. "Alakazam, return, you're in no condition to fight right now!" Ann called out as the beam of light emerged from the ball calling it back. "I've been looking for an excuse to test this guy out! Go Nidoran!" Ann threw the Pokeball and the male Nidoran emerged from it.

"I was worried for a minute but then I remembered that Nidoran doesn't become part ground type until after it's evolved." Dalton commented with a smirk. "If you ask me it seems like a downgrade!"

"He may seem like a downgrade but he isn't! Alakazam may be strong but Nidoran is tough as well! Nidoran, Quick Attack!" Ann commanded and the Nidoran started running towards Pikachu at high speed.

"Pikachu, Thunder!" Dalton commanded and the Pikachu started charging up his Thunder attack before letting lose, however the Nidoran was able to dodge each hit before hitting his attack that sent Pikachu rolling back. "It's time for a different tactic! Pikachu, Iron Tail!" Dalton commanded and the Pikachu's tail started glowing before it charged at the Nidoran again.

"Nidoran use Double Kick!" Ann commanded and the Nidoran leapt up before firing a pair of kicks at Pikachu both of which connected but not before Pikachu's Iron Tail hit knocking both Pokémon out at the same time.

"And we have a double knockout!" Christie called out as both trainers recalled their Pokémon. "Well, Dalton's down to his last Pokémon whilst Ann still has Alakazam waiting in the wings."

"It's a good thing that I saved my best Pokémon for last!" Dalton commented before reaching into his backpack and producing a large cage.

"How did you fit a cage in there?" Christie asked before she heard a Pokemon's cry from it. "Is that a Mankey?" Christie asked before her question was confirmed when she saw the large, monkey like fighting Pokémon, however the Pokémon seemed to be perpetually angry as it shook the cage bars.

"Yeah and like your Torchic he doesn't like Pokeballs." Dalton responded as he opened the cage door up and the Mankey stormed out "Unfortunately he also has a short temper!"

"Short temper or not this will be a piece of cake, go Alakazam!" Ann called out as she tossed the Pokeball and the Psychic Type returned to the field apparently having shaken off the effects of the Supersonic attack. "Your Mankey may have anger issues and Alakazam may be tired from its battle with Butterfree earlier but the fact is that Alakazam has a type advantage here!"

"That may be the case but trust me Alakazam's Type Advantage won't help it here! Mankey, Power-Up Punch!" Dalton commanded and the Mankey reared back its fist as it charged in.

"Alakazam, Future Site!" Ann commanded and the Psychic Type's eyes started glowing again, however Alakazam never got a chance to finish as the punch connected sending it flying into a nearby tree and knocking it out.

"Alakazam's out, Mankey wins!" Christie announced as the Mankey started celebrating looking more pumped up for battle as it did before.

"I should mention." Dalton added as Ann returned Alakazam to its Pokeball. "Each time Power-Up Punch is used my Mankey's Special Attack raises."

"So unless Ann can beat it soon it'll be unbeatable?" Steve asked and Dalton nodded. "Well don't forget, she still has two Pokémon waiting in the wings!"

"And I only need one to finish you off and what do you know? He's also my best Pokémon!" Ann responded as she grabbed a Pokeball and activated it. "I choose you Greninja!" Ann tosses the ball to the ground and it opened revealing a massive blue frog whose tongue was wrapped around its neck that assumed a ninja like stance.

"Wait, is the ref really checking her Pokedex?" Dalton asked as he pointed to Christie who had indeed gotten her Pokedex out.

"_Greninja, the Ninja Pokémon, the fully evolved from of Froakie_, _it appears and vanishes with a ninja's grace. It toys with its enemies using swift movements, while slicing them with throwing stars of sharpest water." _The Pokedex's entry read out and Christie looked up with an annoyed look on her face.

"Well I am a rookie trainer!" Christie responded as she pocketed the Pokedex. "Besides, considering that I've been groped by one of your Pokémon today I'm really not in the mood for any attitude from you!"

"That only happened once and you moved out of the way the second time!" Dalton responded and Christie shook her head. "Mankey, Power-Up Fist!" Dalton commanded and the Mankey charged towards the Pokémon.

"Dodge it and use Water Shuriken!" Ann commanded and the Greninja leapt over the charging Mankey gracefully sending it face first into a nearby tree, the Mankey turned around only to be met with a series of Water Jets from Greninja stunning it.

"Your Greninja may be fast but it can't outrun Mankey forever! Mega Punch!" Dalton commanded and the Mankey span around and charged at Greninja…..only to be hit with the same Psychic attack that defeated Butterfree knocking it out. "That actually went through?!"

"Mankey may have knocked out Alakazam before it could finish the Future Site but he still used it and you can see the results for yourselves." Steve responded as Dalton and Ann called back their Pokémon. "Christie?"

"Right, the winner is Ann!" Christie called out and Ann grinned.

"Thanks for the battle." Dalton said as he walked up. "And again, I'm sorry for Pikachu, is there something I can do to make up for it?"

"Well, Christie is a rookie trainer like she said but she's got a natural gift for battling that being around strong trainers can help bring out, think you could help with that?" Steve asked and Christie suddenly turned to him.

"Did you just forget that his Pikachu wants to grope my breasts at every opportunity?" Christie asked with an annoyed look on her face. "I still can't believe I'm saying that sentence!" Christie muttered under her breath. "I get what you're saying but if getting stronger means putting up with that….."

"It won't, believe it or not Pikachu's actually getting better at this." Dalton interrupted her and Christie blinked. "When I first got him he'd go under a girl's shirt and then grope their breasts!"

"You realize that if he had done that I would've thrown him into the nearest river?" Christie asked and Dalton sweat-dropped.

"Believe it or not, Pikachu's actually used to that by now." Dalton commented and the others sweat-dropped. "Trust me, he won't be doing this forever."

"I'll take your word for it, for now." Christie sighed in resignation and Dalton grinned. "We are on our way to Pewter City but most of our Pokémon need a rest, you know a shortcut?"

"Sure, follow me." Dalton responded as he motioned for the group to follow him.


	7. Into the City

It had been a few hours since the group met up with Dalton and, despite Christie still being upset over the fact that she was groped by Dalton's Pikachu, they were getting along for the most part, where they any closer to Pewter City? That was another problem that they were facing.

"So first your Pikachu gropes me and then you lead us on a so called "Shortcut" that has taken us nowhere near Pewter City." Christie commented as she folded her arms. "You're not exactly doing a lot to help my bad first impression of you." Christie added and Dalton turned around seeing that Steve and Ann shared Christie's sentiments.

"Look, I've apologized over a hundred times for Pikachu's behavior already, can't you get over it?" Dalton asked and Christie's eyes narrowed. "Besides I assure you we are almost there!"

"Dalton, you've said that a few times now and it's getting dark." Steve pointed out with a frown. "You and Ann had your Pokémon Battle around four o'clock, how long exactly have we been on this shortcut off yours!?"

"I don't know and it's not exactly a shortcut in the traditional sense." Dalton responded as he glanced over his shoulder at the trio. "What I mean is that it's a place where there's very little in the way of wild Pokémon."

"Based on what I've seen so far I believe it." Ann responded as she glanced around, the group was now walking up a very steep hill and there didn't seem to be any Pokémon around that didn't belong to any of the trainers in the group. "I told you we should've stuck to the map!"

"Just bear with me guys, okay?" Dalton asked the trio who exchanged suspicious looks before nodding and before long Dalton was on top of the hill with the others not far behind. "See? We're here!" Dalton added and once the other trainers joined him at the top of the hill they saw what he was referring too.

"Pewter City…." Christie said as she took a moment to catch her breath. "We've finally reached the site of my first step towards being the Pokémon Champion!" Christie added with a grin before she felt her stomach rumbling alongside the others. "After we grab a bite to eat that is."

"There's bound to be a few restaurants in the city." Steve added as the group started walking down the hill and towards the city. "But I think we'd better get checked in at the Pokémon Center first, let our Pokémon heal up and let us rest up as well."

"Good idea, I wanted to give mom a call anyway to let them know that we had arrived safely." Christie responded with a grin and Dalton nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, same here, besides it's nine o'clock so the gym's probably closed for the night anyway." Dalton responded as they reached the bottom off the hill and entered the city. "So we're in agreement about heading straight for the Pokémon center?"

"Pretty much, I need to sit down anyway." Christie responded as she followed them, she was currently trailing behind the group due to her bad leg. "And we'll challenge the Pewter City Gym in the morning I take it?"

"We'll have too it's closed for the night." Steve responded as he pointed to the gym which was indeed closed. "I think I'll give Sycamore a call as well and have him send over a Water Type Pokémon that I left with him."

"I just want to fucking rest." Christie moaned as she folded her arms. "We could've gone back to Viridian City and stay the night at their Pokémon Center but no, we had to take his shortcut!"

"We arrived at the city, didn't we?" Dalton asked as he glanced over his shoulder at Christie. "Besides, we'll be at the Pokémon Center in a few minutes, you can rest then."

"This is coming from the guy who doesn't have a permanently injured leg." Christie muttered under her breath as she caught up with Ann, thankfully for her the group reached the Pokémon Center and entered it.

"Welcome to the Pewter City Pokémon Center." Nurse Joy greeted them as they entered the center. "How may I help you this evening?"

"Hi, could you heal up our Pokémon please?" Dalton asked as he walked up to Nurse Joy and she nodded Dalton handed over Butterfree and Pikachu's Pokeballs first before handing over Mankey's and grabbing his cage. "Look I know this sounds weird and is probably unorthodox but my third Pokémon is a short tempered Mankey with a hatred of Pokeballs, so as soon as he's out of his ball could you pop him in there for me?"

"Off course, I'll hand over the cage as soon as he's healed." Nurse Joy nodded in response as she took the cage and set it aside before Christie stepped up and handed over her Pokeballs. "Where did you find a Houndour in Viridian Forrest?"

"I didn't, his trainer abandoned him and I ended up adding him to my team." Christie responded and Nurse Joy nodded sadly before taking the balls, Christie then removed her backpack to let Torchic out of it. "My Torchic doesn't like Pokeballs either, we think he's claustrophobic."

"I've heard weirder stories." Nurse Joy shrugged but didn't notice Christie's curious expression as she was too busy handing of her Pokémon to her Chansey. "Next!" Nurse Joy called out and Christie stepped aside to let Ann hand over her Pokémon which she did without a word. "Is that a Greninja?"

"My brother and I are originally from Kalos." Ann responded and the nurse nodded before handing the Pokémon over and Steve stepped up once his sister was out of the way. "Just one more thing, do you have any rooms available?" Steve asked and Nurse Joy nodded before she checked to make sure.

"I'm sorry but there are only two rooms available, you'll have to share a room each if you want to stay here." Nurse Joy responded and Steve turned to the others.

"I have no problem with sharing a room with Steve." Ann commented and Christie frowned once she realized where she was going with this. "But that'll mean that Christie will have to share with Dalton."

"Look, I know it was his Pikachu that groped me but I don't think that'll work because, well, personal space and all that." Christie responded before thinking for a minute. "I think that I and Ann should share a room together and Steve and Dalton should do the same."

"All right, that works fine for me." Steve responded and Dalton nodded in response before he turned to Nurse Joy. "That'll be fine we'll be gone by tomorrow anyway."

"Challenging the Pewter Gym?" Nurse Joy asked the four trainers nodded. "Well good luck, we're going to need a couple of minutes to set up your rooms so feel free to make yourselves comfortable." Nurse Joy added before walking off and the four trainers took a seat each.

"I think we need to rethink the order we challenge the gym in." Steve commented as he sat down. "Especially since we don't know how much experience Dalton has compared to the rest of us."

"Well based on what I've heard it seems that Christie started her journey shortly after I started mine." Dalton commented and Christie laughed as she shook her head.

"That's probably because I have a habit of sleeping in in the mornings." Christie admitted getting a laugh out of the others.

"Who doesn't?" Dalton asked with a grin before frowning. "Seriously though, I normally advocate ladies first and all but if you're basing the order on experience going up I should probably go first."

"That's fine by me I can use your battle to prepare for mine anyway." Christie responded with a shrug and the others nodded in agreement. "I guess the other problem is tactics."

"Right, Pewter City is a Rock Type Gym and the closest you have to an advantage is Houndour due to being a Dark Type Pokémon." Steve nodded in response as he turned to Dalton. "Does Butterfree know any Psychic type moves? I know they can learn them through leveling up."

"It knows Confusion and I'm trying to teach it Psybeam for the gym, obviously using that move on Ann's Alakazam would've been a waste of time." Dalton responded with a nod. "Other than that, not really." Dalton added and Steve nodded.

"Might want to work on that before you actually challenge the gym." Ann added and Dalton nodded in agreement. "I should be fine, I have Greninja and Alakazam to back me up and that just leaves you Steve."

"Yeah and I need to give Sycamore a call." Steve added before standing up and walking over to the video call booths.

"So Dalton, why did you start so late on your journey?" Ann asked and Dalton sighed sadly. "I just touched a nerve didn't I?"

"Its fine, I've been anticipating that question since I joined up with you guys." Dalton responded as she shifted his weight. "I originally planned to get my first Pokémon at the traditional age but my mom fell ill and I had to look after her."

"Your dad wasn't around?" Christie asked and Dalton shook his head.

"He's a trainer like us but he cared more for battling than he did for Mom and by extension me so he left for the Johto League and never came back." Dalton responded and Christie winced in response. "My mom promised me that I would get to start my journey once she was feeling better, that officially happened a few weeks ago and I got my first Pokémon, Pikachu, two days ago."

"Wait, Pikachu, as in the Pokémon that greeted me by grabbing my breasts?" Christie asked and Steve nodded reluctantly. "Oh man, your first battles against female trainers must've been really awkward." Christie added with a laugh.

"Tell me about it, though I was more concerned about what'll happen if he was still like that by the time I reached a gym run by a woman like Saffron City or Celadon City." Dalton added and the two girls winced at that mental image. "So I've been trying to improve its behavior before I got to that point."

"You realize that Cerulean City's Gym is run by a woman as well, right?" Steve asked as he approached them. "That doesn't exactly leave you with much of a window of opportunity, just saying." Steve added as he sat down.

"I know that's why I've been working even harder at it." Dalton added as he shifted his weight. "Ideally I want Pikachu to just stare at a woman lovingly and nothing more!"

"That has got to be the first time in history that that sentence has ever been said." Christie deadpanned as she tried not to laugh. "By the way, you did warn Nurse Joy, right?" Christie asked and Dalton's eyes widened.

"Be right back!" Dalton said quickly before standing up and going to find Nurse Joy almost as quickly.

"So, did you get the Pokémon you wanted Steve?" Christie asked Steve who nodded in response as he sat down next to her.

"Yeah I had Sycamore send over two Pokémon and as soon as its better are better I'll send back Beedrill and Pidgeot in exchange." Steve responded as he held up the two Pokémon. "I could show you them or you could wait until we go into the gym tomorrow morning."

"I think I'll wait." Christie responded with a nod. "Come to think of it you're the only one out of any of us who hasn't had a warm-up battle, unless you count our match." Christie added and Steve nodded.

"Yeah, I probably could've if we had just stuck to the main path but I can wait." Steve responded before the two teens glanced up at Dalton who was explaining his Pikachu's habit to a clearly bemused Nurse Joy. "On the plus side it'll at least be fun to watch Dalton's Pikachu act when we reach a gym like the Cerulean Gym."

"Presuming the gym leader doesn't kick us out the moment Pikachu makes a leap for her breasts." Christie responded before noticing the odd looks she was getting from a nearby trainer. "It's a long story." She told him and he shrugged before continuing on his way.

"Let's face it there are worse things that he could've overheard us talking about." Steve pointed out and Christie nodded in agreement as Dalton went over to one of the video booths. "So, are your ribs feeling any better?"

"They're feeling a lot better, thanks." Christie responded with a nod. "I think I'll stop by the hospital tomorrow morning and see if a doctor thinks that the bandages are ready to come off, after I make an appointment off course."

"Let me take care of that for you, you have been walking a long time." Steve told her and Christie grinned at that. "So, I overheard the reason Dalton got a late start, sounds like you two have a lot in common."

"Yeah, besides the fact that his dad is just a deadbeat and mine's…..well you know." Christie responded with a frown and Steve nodded. "You realize that you'll have to tell him about your dad if you wake him up due to a nightmare right?" Christie realized and Steve winced.

"Man, I didn't think of that." Steve said as he shifted his weight. "I'll probably just tell him the same way I told you, well besides the fact that Ann won't be there but I can make up for her absence if that does happen." Steve decided with a nod.

"Tell me what?" Dalton's voice rang out and they looked up seeing Dalton carrying a Pokeball in one hand and keeping the other hand in his pocket.

"It's nothing, we were just talking." Steve answered with a nod and Dalton shrugged before sitting down. "What's with the Pokeball? Our Pokémon, besides my new ones, are with Nurse Joy."

"And we didn't see you go towards the Pokemart." Christie added and Dalton shook his head.

"It's a gift from my mom." Dalton explained as he opened the Pokeball and a Ralts emerged from it, almost immediately the Ralts took a liking to Steve as it ran up and hugged his leg.

"Great, first Christie gets groped by your Pikachu and now there's a Ralts with a crush on me." Steve deadpanned as he glanced down at the Pokémon. "It is a girl right?"

"Yeah, I asked mom that before she sent it over and she confirmed it." Dalton responded with a nod as Christie got her Pokedex out and pointed it at the Ralts.

"_Ralts, the Feeling Pokémon, It is highly attuned to the emotions of people and Pokémon. It hides if its senses hostility, until the discovery of the Fairy type Ralts was a Psychic Type Pokémon but it, alongside its evolutions, was reclassified as a duel Fairy/Psychic Type Pokémon."_ The Pokedex's entry read out and Christie pocketed it.

"Just be glad it's not an Onix that has a crush on you…I can't believe I just said that." Christie commented with a face-palm. "I don't know what's worse that sentence or that pun."

"I'm almost tempted to say the pun." Steve deadpanned as he glanced down at the Ralts. "The rooms have to be ready for us by now don't you think?"

"I hope not, I still have to call mom." Christie responded as she stood up and walked over to the video phone booth, she picked up the phone and dialed her mom's number and whilst she was waiting she could've sworn that she saw a pair of figures in black watching through the window. _"I don't think it's a pair of perverts, if they wanted to check me out then why would they do it through a window?" _Christie thought before her mom's image appeared on screen and she turned around. "Hi mom!"

"Christie, it's good to hear from you!" Her mom said with a grin which Christie returned. "Are you getting along fine with Steve and Ann?"

"Err, yeah, I've been getting along great with them." Christie said with a nervous grin as she thought back to what she had learned about them that morning, fortunately her mom didn't seem to notice. "Pidgey evolve yet?"

"No, it's still a Pidgey." Her mom responded as the bird Pokémon landed on her shoulder. "Though it did instinctively go up to your room this morning."

"Off course it did." Christie responded with a laugh as the Pidgey flew off. "How are the girls I knew from the soccer team?"

"They are fine, they came by asking about you and they are glad to hear that you've finally started your journey." Her mom responded and Christie grinned at that. "Though the local boys are disappointed that you aren't around anymore."

"I thought they would be." Christie responded with a grin. "I haven't challenged the Pewter Gym yet, by the time our group arrived at Pewter City the gym was already closed for the night."

"It couldn't have taken that long to get there, could it?" Her mom asked and Christie shook her head.

"It wouldn't have but we met another boy whilst we were in Viridian Forrest by the name of Dalton, he battled Ann, lost and we ended up asking him if he knew a shortcut to Pewter City." Christie added before frowning. "Unfortunately his idea of a "shortcut" means "long path utterly devoid of Pokémon" and it was nine-o'clock by the time we got here."

"Well you got there so that's the main thing." Her mom responded and Christie nodded in agreement. "Where's this Dalton boy now?"

"He's joined up with our group and he's another later starter like I am." Christie responded as she glanced up at Dalton. "Mom, can I be honest with you?"

"Off course Christie, is something wrong?" Her mom asked and she shook her head.

"No, it's nothing like that." Christie said as she glanced up at Steve. "Steve's a nice guy and all but….."

"But what dear?" Christie's mom asked clearly getting concerned for her daughter.

"Well, he has a crush on me." Christie responded with a slight blush. "Not only that but he hasn't exactly been subtle about it."

"I see." Her mom sighed in relief as Christie shifted her weight. "Do you share his feelings?"

"I don't know I've only known him for a day after all." Christie responded as she shook her head and her mom nodded. "You have any advice?"

"It's all up to you Christie, if he's serious about it and so are you I say go for it." Her mom responded and Christie nodded. "If you're not then let him down gently, there's plenty more Magicarp in the sea."

"Yeah, I know, speaking of which I caught one yesterday and it won't stay in his ball." Christie responded getting a laugh out of her mom. "And then there's the Torchic I caught just outside Viridian Forest who's claustrophobic."

"Really?" Her mom asked with a mixture of surprise and amusement in her voice and Christie nodded.

"Yeah, he's with Nurse Joy at the moment so I can't really show you." Christie added and her mom nodded.

"Do your friends have any interesting Pokémon?" Her mom asked and Christie blushed again.

"Well, Dalton has a Pikachu and….." Christie trailed off before blushing a bit. "Well my first meeting with him involved that Pikachu leaping up and making itself comfy…..in between my breasts….." Christie trailed off and her mom face-faulted when she heard that. "I swear mom, I am not making that up." She added as her mom got up with a laugh that Christie could barely hear because she had dropped the phone in the process.

"I'm not even going to ask." Her mom said once she picked the phone back up and Christie grinned before her mom noticed something. "It looks like Steve's trying to get your attention." Her mom said as Christie looked up seeing that Steve was waving her over.

"I'd better go we've been waiting for Nurse Joy to clear some rooms for us." Christie responded and her mom nodded before hanging up and Christie did likewise before turning to Steve. "I'm guessing they have our rooms ready?"

"Yeah, they've taken our bags up as well." Steve nodded in response and Christie grinned before standing up and following him.

*meanwhile outside*

"Shit, that female trainer almost spotted us!" The Team Rocket Grunt muttered under her breath as she hugged the wall of the Pokémon Center, she and her partner in crime had been sent to sneak into the center late at night but they had almost been caught. "Should we abandon the mission?"

"No, the boss gave us clear instructions and she barely caught a glimpse of us anyway." The male grunt responded as he folded his arms. "So we'll wait until everyone's in their rooms and sneak in, got it?"

"Got it, this should be a piece of cake!" The female grunt responded with a grin as they waited for the lobby to clear up.

*two hours later*

"AHHHHH!" Steve shot out of bed in a cold sweat waking up Dalton at the same time, it had been another nightmare related to his dad but this one was worse as he attacked and killed everyone in the center including using his MO on Nurse Joy, Christie and a female trainer who he had bumped into on the way to the room, literally. _"Just another nightmare, I need to see a shrink about this!"_

"Dude, what the hell?" Dalton asked as he sat up. "I was having a nice dream."

"Yeah well, I wasn't." Steve commented as he folded his arms. "In fact I had a similar dream the first night Christie spent with me and Ann." Steve added and Dalton frowned.

"You want to talk about it?" Dalton asked and Steve shook his head, before he could respond however he heard footsteps approaching the room thanks to the Pokémon Center's thin walls. "Dalton, did you hear that?"

"Yeah, and it's weird, no one should be up at this hour." Dalton responded as he checked his watch. "Maybe a trainer went to check on their Pokémon?"

"Doubt it, unless they want to be charged with breaking and entering." Steve responded before standing up and grabbing the Pokeballs that contained his two new Pokémon. "As much as I want to believe it's someone like Christie grabbing a midnight snack or something I'm going to investigate."

"Wait, I'm coming with you." Dalton responded and Steve nodded before the two boys left their room, it wasn't a trainer they saw though, instead it was the Team Rocket grunts carrying a bag full of Pokeballs each.

"Hey!" Steve called out to them and the two grunts froze in place before spinning around.

"What do you want kid?" The female grunt asked as she span around. "Can't you see we're busy?"

"Busy stealing Pokémon for Team Rocket you mean, don't try to deny it, the logo is on your outfits!" Dalton pointed out and the two grunts' eyes widened.

"So what if it is?" The male grunt asked as he grabbed a Pokeball and his partner did the same. "What do you plan on doing about it?" He asked and the two male trainers nodded to each other before grabbing a Pokeball each.

"I'll show you right now! We'll battle tag team style, first team to lose their Pokémon loses." Steve added and Dalton nodded. "You win, you leave with those Pokémon, we win…..well we'll see what happens."

"Dude, are you nuts?" Dalton whispered to him. "Ralts is untested and you obviously haven't used your new Pokémon in a while."

"Trust me, we'll be fine!" Steve assured him before activating his Pokeball. "Starmie, I chose you!" Steve called out as the Pokeball opened revealing the purple, star shaped Pokémon.

"Get them Ralts!" Dalton added as he tossed the ball and the small Pokémon emerged from the Pokeball.

"A starfish with a jewel in the center and an unevolved Psychic/Fairy Type, you idiots may as well have let us get away!" The female grunt smirked as she tossed a Pokeball and a Servipor emerged from it.

"Great, that means I'm hopeless against her." Dalton grunted and Steve's eyes narrowed when he saw the Dark Type Pokémon.

"You haven't even seen my Pokémon kid! Go Electrode!" The male grunt tossed a Pokeball and from it emerged the rather infamous Pokémon. "And here's some extra incentive, you even try to make a break for the Pokeballs and I'll have Electrode use Self-Destruct!"

"In this narrow a space? You realize how many people could be killed, right?" Steve asked and the grunt grinned.

"That's the idea kid!" The grunt responded and Steve turned to Dalton.

"I'll handle the Servipor, Electrode's all yours!" Steve told him and Dalton nodded in responded.

"Ralts, Confusion!" Dalton commanded the small Psychic Type Pokémon started firing up her Psychic Attack.

"Servipor, intercept that attack!" The female grunt called out and the snake leapt into action only to be hit with a Water Gun from Starmie.

"Sorry but your taking on me! Starmie, Thunder!" Steve commanded and the upper half of Starmie's body started spinning rapidly enough to generate thunder which struck the female grunt's Servipor.

"Wait, a Water Type Pokémon can learn an electric move?" Dalton asked and Steve shrugged.

"I was just as surprised as you are." Steve responded as the female grunt called back the now knocked out Servipor before getting an idea and grinning. "I don't like that grin!"

"You have no idea!" The female grunt said as she grabbed five of the Pokeballs from the bag whilst the male grunt grabbed three. "You may have defeated my Servipor but let's see if you can handle these Pokémon!" The grunt added as she and the male grunt tossed the balls, however when the Pokémon where reveled to be a Litleo, a Delphox, a Pidgeot, a Beedrill and a female Nidoran alongside an angry looking Mankey, a Pikachu and a Butterfree the two trainers shared a knowing look before grinning. "What are you happy about? You're outnumbered!"

"Look again!" Steve answered and the two grunts started to panic as each Pokémon made their way over to Steve and Dalton's side of the field and even the Electrode looked like it knew that his trainer had just screwed him over. "You just sent OUR OWN POKÉMON into battle against us! You two have to be either the unluckiest or dumbest Rocket Grunts that I've ever met!"

"Oh, and one more thing, Pikachu, you see that hotee over there?" Dalton asked and the Pikachu quickly noticed the female grunt and let out an excited cry.

"Did I just get called hot by a trainer I'm robbing…?" The female grunt never got a chance to finish as the Pikachu leapt into her cleavage knocking her over in the process. "GET THIS THING OFF ME!"

"Man the guys are NOT going to believe this when I tell them later!" The male grunt responded with a massive grin as he started tugging at the Pikachu as Electrode rolled over for a closer look.

"Pikachu, Thunder!" Dalton called out and the male grunt's grin quickly disappeared as the Pikachu, after a moment of hesitation, started charging up his attack.

"Hurry up already! I am not getting shocked by something attached to my tits! Well, at least not outside of my bedroom!" The female grunt yelled out and Steve, Dalton and the male grunt sweat-dropped.

"That was too much information lady!" The three males responded just before the Pikachu let loose with its attack knocking the grunts and Electrode out.

"Officer Jenny's on the way guys." Christie's voice rang out and they looked up seeing Christie with her hair down and in her nightgown standing next to Ann alongside several other trainers who had come out of their rooms. "We were awoken by your battle."

"As bad as it sounds, I was hoping that would happen, otherwise they would've gotten away." Steve nodded as Christie quickly closed the door on Pikachu as it made another leap for her breasts causing him to hit the door instead, Dalton called back to the Pikachu as Christie opened up the door again. "I think you'd better search through the bag for your Pokémon guys."

"Good idea." Christie nodded before letting the other trainers go first, after they gave their thanks to Steve for the help Christie and Ann claimed their Pokémon including a frightened looking Torchic, Christie shook her head sadly before holding out her arms. "Torchic, I'm sorry that happened to you, just for tonight I'll make up for it by letting you sleep in our room rather than my backpack."

"Torchic!" The Torchic cried happily before leaping into his trainer's arms.

"Anyone know what time it is?" Ann asked as she grabbed her Pokeballs from the bag and Steve shook his head.

"No, I just know that it's late and we should get some sleep." Steve responded and the others nodded before returning to their rooms.

*meanwhile*

"Sir, the grunts have been defeated and arrested." A third grunt, who had cased the Pokémon Center earlier for the two grunts disguised as a Pokémon Trainer, said to his boss over a videophone in an unknown location. "I wouldn't recommend attacking the Pewter Pokémon Centre again, they will be on alert!"

"I agree, for now you are dismissed." His boss, a man entirely concealed in shadow, responded and the grunt hesitated. "I'm sending in one of the higher up teams, a team that has dealt with the Bishops before."

"Yes sir." The grunt nodded before hanging up, whilst that was going on the boss made another call.

"The Bishops are back on our Rader, you are needed in Kanto Cassidy and Billy." The boss instructed before waiting for their response.

"We got it sir! We're on the way!" A female voice rang out before hanging up.

"MY NAME IS NOT BILLY! IT'S BUTCH! BUTCH! BUTCH!" Her male companion's gruff voice responded before pausing. "Oh and got it!" The male added before hanging up.


	8. Rock this City Part One

It was the morning after Team Rocket's failed break in at the Pewter City Pokémon Center but Steve, Christie, Ann and Dalton where still asleep due to how late they were woken up the previous night, so who was the focus on?

"_Another day, another bunch of rookies come by my gym to see if they stand a chance of getting to the Pokémon League." _Tristan thought with a chuckle as he unlocked the gym's front door, he had heard that Team Rocket had tried, and failed, to break into the Pewter City Pokémon Center on the news earlier but it was thanks to the intervention of two young male trainers that they were stopped. _"At a guess I'd say that at least one of those trainers was Steve but since he had two female trainers with him I can't say for certain who the other trainer was."_

"Good morning Tristan, ready for another day of Pokémon Battles?" A female voice asked and he looked up seeing a young woman with black hair that went past her shoulders and blue eyes who was wearing a black t-shirt and blue jeans along with a pair of reading glasses on her face.

"I'm as ready as ever Rachel." Tristan answered as he unlocked the door and opened up the Pokémon gym. "Did you see any strong trainers in the city?"

"No one that looked particularly strong but I did see three trainers that match your description of the trainers you bumped into outside the Viridian Forrest." Rachel answered with a nod. "Tall female in her late teens with shoulder length Dark Brown hair in a ponytail wearing a crop top and denim shorts, tall male also in his late teens with messy red hair wearing a denim jacket, jeans and a t-shirt and a young girl in her pre-teens with shoulder length red hair wearing a black dress."

"Yeah, that sounds like Christie, Steve and Ann all right." Tristan nodded once he recognized the descriptions. "I wouldn't be surprised if they do challenge me but in the meantime I need you to increase security around the gym."

"Will that be necessary sir?" Rachel asked and Tristan turned to her.

"Two Team Rocket members were arrested for trying to break into the Pokémon Center, tell me, besides the Pokémon Center where would they go in this city to steal Pokémon?" Tristan asked and Rachel thought for a moment.

"They'd target the Pewter City Gym." Rachel responded with a nod. "I'll get on it right away sir!"

"Good, any challengers are to enter through the front and not the back and their bags have to be searched before entering the gym." Tristan responded and Rachel nodded before walking off.

*meanwhile*

"I'd say morning but knowing my sleeping patterns it's probably the early afternoon." Christie said with a laugh as she saw Ann wake up and get out of bed through the mirror, despite being woken up as early as they were the two girls had gotten plenty of sleep and where ready for the gym battle, right now Christie was brushing her hair in front of the mirror but she was still in her nightgown.

"As long as we don't sleep through the entire day I won't complain." Ann added with a grin as she hopped out of bed and Christie started tying her hair up in a ponytail. "Actually I've been wondering something since I met you."

"How I haven't got a boyfriend yet?" Christie asked with a grin and Ann laughed.

"No, why do you keep your hair in a ponytail?" Ann asked and Christie turned to her. "Your hair looks much better let down!"

"And it's also a bitch to brush in the mornings." Christie responded as she finished tying her hair up. "Besides, I'm a tomboy, as if the fact that I used to play soccer in school didn't make that fact obvious, gotta keep up the image somehow!"

"A tomboy who's wardrobe is made up mostly off crop tops?" Ann asked and Christie shook her head.

"Hey, I worked hard to get my abs the way they are! I may as well show off my hard work!" Christie responded with a grin as she stood up and let Ann take her seat whilst Christie started searching for an outfit to wear. "Besides, you don't hear Dalton or your brother complaining!"

"Or Dalton's Pikachu for that matter," Ann added and Christie frowned. "Still sore over your first meeting with Dalton?"

"Let's see, I got groped by a Pokémon that could knock me out with an Electric Shock and rather than help your brother decided to be a smart-ass." Christie responded as she removed her nightgown and started getting dressed. "So yeah, I'm still bitter!"

"He's just being a boy Christie, hell you're older than me so I thought you'd know that by now." Ann responded as Christie put on a black hoodie that showed off her stomach.

"Ann, remember when I told you about the boys in Pallet Town?" Christie asked as she put her jeans on and Torchic joined her on the bed. "To me "being a boy" means either slapping me on the ass or staring at my breasts for minutes on end until mom chased them off with her Tauros." Christie added with a sigh. "Steve, as far as I'm concerned, was just being a jackass for the sake of it!"

"At least he didn't actually try it like that Team Rocket grunt." Ann pointed out as she got dressed and Christie nodded in agreement. "Still can't believe Dalton weaponized his perverted Pikachu!"

"You know, when I imagined finally starting my Pokémon journey over the past eight years, I never thought I'd be hearing this many weird sentences." Christie said with a grin and Ann laughed at that and neither girl noticed the door open at that point. "Then again growing up I thought I'd be dominating every trainer I met…..in battle….." Christie quickly clarified when Ann started giggling. "And that I'd win the Pokémon league ten years in a row!"

"Christie, is there a limit to how big your ego is?" Steve asked with a deadpan expression on his face and the two girls nearly jumped out of their skin, once Christie recovered she turned to him.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to clarify about that." Christie responded as she turned to him. "You already know that my mom had to raise me on her own after my dad died, well after I couldn't start my Pokémon Journey the first time she told me, what I guess is the family motto and I pretty much took that to heart!"

"And what's the motto?" Steve asked and Christie grinned in response.

"Dream big or don't dream at all," Christie responded as Dalton approached the doorway. "My mom pretty much called it the secret to her success as a trainer, the last time she competed in the Pokémon League she ended up winning the whole thing."

"That was eight years ago, right?" Steve asked and Christie nodded.

"Yeah, right before dad died." Christie sighed sadly and Steve shook his head. "She tried to find a way that she could balance being a single parent and being a Pokémon champion but she eventually settled on retiring."

"Christie, just a quick question, how old was your mom when she started her journey?" Steve asked and Christie thought for a moment.

"I think she was the traditional age when she started, most of the Pokémon she owns nowadays are descended from her original Pokémon." Christie added and Steve nodded. "Why do you ask?"

"Look, I'm not saying that isn't a good motto to have but your mom had a lot more experience than you by the time she was your current age, no offense but if you want to live up to that motto you have a long way to go." Steve added and Christie frowned. "Come to think off it, didn't you mention that the original plan was for your mom to join you on your journey?"

"I did, she even had a few warm-up matches against Professor Oak to make sure that her skills where up to par." Christie added before shaking her head. "Unfortunately she was too rusty for it, I asked her about it a couple of weeks before I finally started and she said that her skills weren't what they used to be and that she'd have to relearn everything in order to keep up." Christie added as she frowned. "The idea was that she'd show me the ropes in preparation for my first gym battle."

"But the truth was she wouldn't have been a good teacher at all." Steve added and Christie nodded. "Well, you've got us here to pick up the slack anyway so it's not like you're alone."

"I know." Christie responded with a nod. "So what's the plan as far as the gym's concerned? I checked the time on the alarm clock and it should be open by now."

"It is, I asked around before stopping by and the locals said that the gym leader usually opens the gym around this time every morning." Steve responded with a nod. "I checked the gym to be sure and yeah, it's open."

"But as eager as we are to get our first badges I think we all know what's more important." Dalton added and Christie frowned as she folded her arms.

"What's more important than getting the first badge?" Christie asked but before either of them could answer her stomach rumbled. "Never mind, my stomach just answered my question for me." Christie added as a large sweat-drop rolled down her head.

"Luckily for you we found a café in town whilst you two where having your lay-ins." Steve added before reaching into his pocket and producing a flyer for the place.

"Pewter Rocks Café, they don't serve rocks, right?" Christie asked once she read the name of the café and Steve and Dalton laughed.

"Nah, from what we saw it seems like typical café food, burgers, all day breakfasts, you name it." Steve responded as he pocketed the flyer. "Best part is the fact that it's literally around the corner from the gym."

"Well, I'm ready to go, what about you Ann?" Christie asked as she turned to the younger trainer turned to her.

"I'm ready when you are!" Ann responded with a nod and Christie grinned before the two girls left the room.

*meanwhile*

"The ETA is five minutes until we reach Pewter City guys." The helicopter pilot said as he drove the helicopter above Kanto, any trainers bellow would've heard it flying overhead but it was too far up for them to see.

And that situated the Team Rocket members inside perfectly.

"Good, I've wanted another shot at that punk!" Butch commented with a grin as he looked at his picture. "What do you we know about the other two trainers with them?"

"Just a pair of rookies, I doubt that have any decent Pokémon Biff." The helicopter pilot answered as he continued to pilot the helicopter.

"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU? MY NAME IS BUTCH!" Butch yelled at him but the pilot ignored him.

"Just ignore him Hutch." Cassidy responded whilst ignoring the glare she got from Butch. "The Pewter City gym is a rock one last time I checked."

"Nowadays it's more of a Rock/Steel hybrid." The pilot corrected her as he checked the info. "It's been that way ever since the current leader took over."

"Doesn't matter, from what I remember about the Bishops they only have one Water Type between them and that is Ann's Greninja." Butch chimed in as he folded his arms. "I say we wait until after they finish their Gym Battles and then crash the party knowing that their Pokémon will be too tired to put up much of a fight."

"Don't forget about the gym leader, his Pokémon are bound to be powerful." Cassidy added and Butch turned to her. "Those grunts may have failed but they were idiots, we won't make the same mistake."

"Tell me about it, they had the Pokémon from the hospital section of the Pokémon Center, why go up to where the rooms where and not go out the front door? It's not like Nurse Joy would've been awake." Butch added and Cassidy nodded in agreement.

*meanwhile*

By that time Christie, Ann, Dalton and Steve had eaten their breakfast and had left the café before heading straight for the Pokémon Gym, now that they were there though Dalton was having second thoughts.

"Actually guys, I changed my mind, Christie should go first." Dalton stated and she turned to him. "She could use the experience."

"That works for me." Christie responded and Steve and Ann nodded in agreement. "So…do we go in?"

"That's the idea." Steve nodded in response before Christie grinned and opened the door the gym was mostly dark with a rock type field. "Hello? We're here to challenge the gym!"

"So you are Steve." Tristan's voice rang out as the tall man stepped into view with a Pokeball in his hand. "Welcome challengers, I am the Gym Leader Tristan!"

"Wait, you're the gym leader?!" Ann asked as a look of surprise washed over her face. "Why didn't you say so back at the lake?"

"Oh that? That was my day-off, I went to that lake to relax." Tristan responded and the teens sweat-dropped. "I understand you arrived yesterday evening."

"Err, yeah, why?" Christie asked as she scratched her head.

"It shouldn't have taken you that long to reach the city from Viridian Forrest, that's why." Tristan responded and Christie sighed.

"You can blame Dalton for that." Christie responded as she pointed out the trainer. "We met him the day after we met you, he promised to take us on a shortcut to the city since our Pokémon were tired but his idea of a shortcut isn't really that short!"

"I see." Tristan nodded in response. "Okay, let's get the formalities out of the way, first I'll have to have the guards search your bags because of the break-in at the Pokémon Center last night." Tristan explained as a pair of security guards approached them but, besides some misunderstanding regarding Torchic and Mankey there wasn't any problems. "Now if there was only one challenger I'd challenge him/her without hesitation but there's four of you, have you decided on an order?"

"Yeah, we did." Christie responded with a grin as she grabbed a Pokeball. "And we decided that we should stick to the old saying "beauty before age"."

"That's not the right quote." Tristan responded as a large sweat-drop rolled down his head.

"And we're just going to ignore that comment." Steve added with an annoyed tone to his voice and Christie laughed nervously. "Besides if that were true Ann would be going first because she's the youngest in the group!"

"Your friends have a point Christie." Rachel's voice rang out and they looked up seeing Rachel standing to the side of the arena. "I am Rachel, the official referee for this gym!" Rachel introduced herself and the challengers winced. _"Not to mention unofficial talent scout…..what's up with their reactions anyway? I'm not that cut-throat!"_

"Okay, err, just one question before we get started." Christie said as she glanced towards Dalton before turning back to Dalton and Rachel. "Hypothetically, how would Rachel react if a Pikachu leapt up and made it's comfy in between her breasts?"

"…..what…" Tristan and Rachel asked simultaneously as they stared at Christie like she had just started acting like a Tauros.

"That has got to be one of the weirdest questions I've ever been asked in my career as a Gym Leader and trust me, I've heard them all!" Tristan sighed once the shock of the question passed. "That would depend on Rachel."

"Gee, thanks for deflecting the question too me!" Rachel sighed to herself before shaking her head. "I'm not going to sugar coat it, the trainer would have five seconds to recall the Pokémon before I disqualified them, kicked the whole team out of the gym and made sure that you are all blacklisted from the Pokémon League."

"….seriously?" Steve asked and they nodded.

"That would technically count as an assault on a referee, unintentional mind you but my point still stands." Tristan added and they turned to him. "It may seem harmless at first but what if the Pikachu lets lose a Thunderbolt unprovoked?" Tristan added before frowning. "Why do you ask?"

"Dalton has a perverted Pikachu it greeted me the same way I just described to you." Christie explained and they sweat-dropped in response. "I wish I was making that up! Part of the reason I'm wearing this hoodie is to see if it tries the sane stunt whilst I'm wearing baggy clothing!"

"I'm not even going to ask." Tristan said after a few minutes before going over to a panel. "Is it safe to assume that none of you have any badges?"

"Well, unless you count the Kalos Region, yes." Steve responded and Tristan shook his head.

"No, I wasn't counting the other regions when I said that." Tristan responded as he selected two Pokémon. "Very well, as gym leaders are required to base their choice of Pokémon on the strength of the opponent I choose these three Pokémon!" Tristan added as he grabbed three Pokémon. "Do the honors Rachel."

"Off course, this match is an officially sanctioned gym battle for the Stone Badge and it will be a three on three battle between the Pewter City Gym Leader Tristan and Christie Monroe from Pallet Town! Once a trainer's Pokémon are all defeated they lose the match and only the challenger can switch Pokémon!" Rachel announced as Tristan and Christie choose their Pokémon. "Trainer, Gym Leader, do you understand the rules?"

"I understand perfectly." Tristan nodded before turning to Christie. "Do you?"

"What he said." Christie responded and Rachel nodded.

"Right then, trainers, send out your Pokémon and begin!" Rachel commanded and the two trainers grinned confidently.

"Evee, you're up!" Christie called out as she sent out the Pokeball and her starter Pokémon emerged from it.

"You're starting with Evee huh? Interesting choice, but allow me to demonstrate your first mistake in your career as a Pokémon Trainer!" Tristan added as he tossed the Pokeball. "Geodude, go!" Tristan called out and the Pokeball opened revealing the rock type Pokémon, Christie dug her Pokedex out of her jeans pocket and pointed it at the Geodude.

"_Geodude, the Rock Pokémon are often found in fields and mountains, mistaking them for boulders, people often step or trip on them."_ The Pokedex's entry read out and she pocketed it just as quickly.

"Err, Christie, one quick question, why would you send a Normal Type Pokémon like Evee into battle against a Rock Type gym?" Steve asked and Christie glanced at him. "Unless you've been holding on to a Water Stone this whole time then I'd suggest calling him back."

"I haven't and I won't." Christie responded and Steve went to object. "Evee's had no battle experience outside of our match when we first met and besides, my mom beat the Rock gym with a flying type Pokémon so I'll be just fine."

"Let's see, egomaniac, is setting a high bar by comparing herself to Sarah Monroe…." Tristan trailed off as he counted on his fingers and Christie face-faulted.

"I came here for a gym battle, not a psych evaluation!" Christie quickly asserted as she sat up.

"And a short temper." Tristan finished off as Christie got back to her feet only to face-fault again. "Deal with it Christie, I often like to evaluate my opponents mentally before the match starts."

"At least ask first!" Christie responded as she got back to her feet. "And you knew my mom?"

"Well, yes, she was a Pokémon trainer, wasn't she?" Tristan pointed out and Christie sweat-dropped as she laughed nervously. "I wasn't the one she challenged however, it was my dad she challenged as I was just a boy at the time, and needless to say her Pidgey got a lucky critical hit in as the Battle ended."

"Well maybe I'll have similar luck with my Evee! Evee, Quick Attack!" Christie commanded once Rachel started the match and the Evee started charging at a high speed.

"Geodude, Rock Throw!" Tristan commanded and the Geodude started throwing rocks at the charging Evee but the Evee either dodged or leapt over most of them as it continued his charge. "Your Evee may be fast but it can't dodge forever! Geodude, keep up the Rock Throw!" Tristan commanded and the Geodude kept throwing rocks this time throwing it quicker than it before, it managed to catch Evee a couple of times but Evee hit it's quick attack sending it sliding backwards.

"Err, Christie, does Evee know any moves other than Quick Attack and Take Down?" Steve asked and Christie thought for a moment.

"Maybe I should've used Evee more often before sending it into a gym battle." Christie admitted causing her friends to face-fault.

"Just think of this as a learning experience for you and your Evee, unfortunately it'll end in his defeat!" Tristan responded before pointing to Geodude. "Geodude, Magnitude!" Tristan commanded and Steve's eyes widened as the whole arena started to shake.

"Christie, Evee won't be able to dodge this attack! Call it back!" Steve called out to her and Christie nodded before grabbing Evee's Pokeball and pointing it at Evee, however it dodged the attempted call back both times as the attack knocked him off his feet but didn't knock him out. "Evee may be resilient but there's no way he's still in fighting condition."

"Evee can still win this!" Christie asserted and Tristan shook his head.

"You're just as stubborn as your mother was when she challenged the gym." Tristan commented as he shook his head. "Your Evee's obviously on its last legs, the battle will be over soon."

"Maybe but I'm not giving up that easy! Evee, Sand Attack!" Christie commanded and Evee started running around Geodude kicking up a significant amount of Sand.

"Geodude, stop that attack with Rock Throw!" Tristan commanded and the Geodude started throwing rocks at Evee but it dodged each one.

"It seems I didn't need Sand Attack to affect your Geodude's accuracy." Christie responded and Tristan chuckled. "What's so funny?!"

"Just watch." Tristan responded and Christie did so, Evee kept up the attack for a few more minutes before tripping over one of the rocks sending him flying. "Like I said it can't dodge forever!"

"Yeah well, from the look of things it won't need too!" Christie responded and Tristan blinked before realizing that Geodude's eyes were completely covered in sand.

"Geodude quick, get that sand out of your eyes now!" Tristan commanded and the Geodude started swatting at his eyes.

"Now's your chance Christie, finish him!" Steve responded and Christie grinned before nodding.

"Evee, Take Down!" Christie commanded and the Evee charged towards the Geodude as it tried to get the sand from his eyes, however by the time it could it was too late for the Geodude as the attack hit knocking the Geodude out.

"Geodude is out of the battle! Evee wins!" Rachel announced and Christie grinned broadly as Tristan recalled Geodude.

"Impressive strategy but you've only taken out one of my Pokémon!" Tristan responded as he activated another Pokeball. "Let's see how you handle something bigger!"

"First male to make a perverted joke takes a Take Down to the balls from my Evee!" Christie warned them and Steve and Dalton laughed nervously. "You don't want to know what'll happen to the second." Christie added and they shut up.

"_Shame, I was hoping to see if she went through with it." _Rachel thought to herself with a chuckle as Tristan activated his Pokeball.

"Go Steelix!" Tristan tossed the Pokeball and a massive, steel colored snake like Pokémon emerged from it easily towering over Evee and everyone else in the room, Christie dug out her Pokedex again and pointed it at the Steelix.

"_Steelix, the Iron Snake Pokémon, the Evolved form of Onix, tempered underground under high pressure and heat, its body is harder than any metal." _The Pokedex entry read out and Christie looked back up at the Steelix.

"I thought the Pewter Gym was purely a Rock Type gym?" Ann asked and Tristan shook his head.

"Once upon a time that was true." Tristan admitted with a nod. "But when I took over I already had Steelix here and a Skarmory in my party, rather than release them I got permission to change it to a Rock/Steel hybrid."

"If that's the case I'm changing my Pokémon as well." Christie responded as she got Evee's Pokeball out. "Evee, return and take a rest!" Christie called out to her starter Pokémon and Evee nodded as the light emerged from the ball calling it back. _"You did great Evee but I'm not about to risk losing a Pokémon this early!" _Christie thought before taking off her backpack and letting Torchic out not noticing that another Pokeball had opened up. "Ready for your first gym battle Torchic?"

"I don't know about Torchic but it seems that your Magicarp is!" Tristan responded and Christie looked up seeing her only Water Pokémon splashing around on the field, she face palmed before calling it back.

"One of these days that Magicarp will end up costing me an important match." Christie sighed to herself as Torchic marched onto the field unafraid of the much larger Pokémon. "Anyway, this should be easy enough since Torchic's a Fire Type Pokémon!"

"Torchic may have a type advantage over Steelix but I'm willing to bet that it doesn't have its experience!" Tristan responded before pointing at Steelix. "Steelix put the squeeze on that Torchic with Bind!" Tristan commanded once Rachel started the match and the Steelix started charging towards Torchic was surprising speed.

"_I'll have to act fast! Bind on its own is bad enough but combined with Torchic's claustrophobia…." _Christie's thoughts trailed off before pointing to her Torchic. "Torchic, put the heat on him by dodging and using Ember now!" Christie commanded and the Torchic started running backwards whilst firing several fireballs at the much bigger Pokémon and it was quickly evident that it was doing some damage.

"If she keeps this up she'll be two for two in the wins department!" Ann said with a grin on her face and Steve shook his head.

"Ann, if Tristan was this easy to defeat he wouldn't be a gym leader." Steve responded as he turned to her. "We both know that from our travels in the Kalos region."

"You guys have nothing to worry about!" Christie responded with a grin as she turned to them. "His Steelix is surprisingly fast but Torchic is obviously faster!"

"Err, Christie, you might want to turn around." Dalton told Christie and Christie blinked before turning around, her eyes widened when she realized that Torchic had caught his foot on one of the rocks that Geodude has used to trip up Evee earlier and by the time he was able to get back to his feet Steelix had him surrounded. "Torchic, quick get out of there now!"

"Sorry Christie but there's no were for Torchic to run! Steelix put the squeeze on him!" Tristan commanded and the Pokémon's body closed in around Torchic quickly before squeezing him. "You may think me cruel for using such a move on a Torchic who's claustrophobic but this is a lesson that you'll have to learn! If you want to succeed as a Pokémon trainer you have to pull out all the stops!"

"Guys, I'm open to suggestions here!" Christie said with a nervous gulp as Torchic cried out in pain.

"Call it back and send in Houndour to finish the job!" Steve called out and Christie nodded before grabbing Torchic's Pokeball.

"_Sorry Torchic but this will be a lot less painful than being in that Steelix's bide." _Christie thought as she pointed the Pokeball at Torchic however she was met with the same problem as she had with Evee but this time Steelix was moving his body to deflect the attempts. "That's gotta be against some rule!"

"Nothing in the rule book about using your Pokémon to deflect the call back attempts, sorry." Rachel responded with a shrug and Christie glared at her.

"No use glaring at the ref, she's just the messenger." Tristan added once he saw the glare that Christie was giving Rachel and she let up when she realized that he was right.

"_There's gotta be something I can do though!" _Christie thought as the squeeze on Torchic tightened causing the Pokémon to cry even louder. _"I'm not letting my future Blaziken go out like this! Maybe the Pokedex has some answers." _Christie thought before checking her Pokedex for moves that Torchic could learn most of the moves didn't seem like they would work until she saw one that caught her attention. _"Did I ever learn the level Torchic was at when I caught it? Well anyway it's a shot in the dark but at the same time it's my best bet!" _Christie thought before pocketing her Pokedex. "Torchic, I know it's hard but try a Fire Spin!"

"Torchic doesn't learn that move until it's at Level Twenty Five, you caught it outside Viridian Forrest." Tristan responded as he folded his arms. "Do the math." Tristan added but to everyone's surprise Torchic nodded before using the move to generate a ring of fire around Steelix causing the massive Pokémon to reel back in pain letting Torchic go in the process. "What on Earth?"

"I'm just as surprised as you are to be honest." Christie admitted before grinning. "But now is my chance to turn this around, Torchic, use Ember one more time!" Christie commanded and the Torchic leapt up before letting loose with an Ember attack, the Steelix struggled to stay upright for a few moments before finally toppling over out cold.

"Steelix is unable to battle….." Rachel trailed off as Torchic started glowing white. "It's evolving as well?!"

"Okay, I'm beginning to think that there's a lot more to this Pokémon than just claustrophobia!" Tristan commented and the others nodded in agreement as Torchic finished evolving growing into Combusken. "Christie, are you certain that you saw no other trainers nearby when you saw it?"

"I was getting changed out of wet clothing behind some bushes near that lake we met at I think I would've noticed some spying on me getting dressed, and I'd rather not think about what they would've been doing with their hands in the process." Christie responded as she pointed her Pokedex at the newly evolved Pokémon.

"_Combusken, the Young Fowl Pokémon, the evolved form of Torchic, __Its kicking mastery lets it lose 10 kicks per second. It emits sharp cries to intimidate foes."_ The Pokedex entry read out and Christie pocketed it.

"That is true but maybe we should talk to Officer Jenny and see if there are any trainers who reported a missing Torchic, even if it got that strong on its own the Pokémon around Viridian Forrest are too weak to give it any significant experience." Steve added and Christie nodded in agreement. "After the gym battles that is."

"Right, as I was saying, Steelix is out, Combusken wins!" Rachel added as Tristan called back his Pokémon.

"_On one hand, I have to be the luckiest girl who's ever wanted a Blaziken in Kanto." _Christie thought as her newly evolved Combusken took several deep breaths. _"On the other hand he may be down by two Pokémon but two of my Pokémon are severely weakened by their fights, I'll have to think of some kind of back-up plan if Combusken and Evee as defeated."_

"You may have defeated my Steelix and Geodude but you've yet to see the best of my Pokémon." Tristan said as he grabbed his final Pokéball. "And it'll be a Pokémon your very familiar with, go Rhyhorn!" Tristan tossed the Pokeball and Rhyhorn emerged from it ready for battle. "If you want to switch out Combusken now is the time."

"_He's got a point, there's no way that Combusken is in any shape to fight after his fight with Steelix." _Christie thought before nodding. "Combusken, return, you need a rest!" Christie called out to him but Combusken stayed put. "Err, Combusken, I just gave you an order." Christie added but the Combusken gave her a reassuring look. _"Does he really think that he can still fight?" _Christie thought before grabbing Combusken's Pokeball. _"I can't take that chance!" _Christie thought before activating it and pointing it at Combusken only for the Pokémon to leap out of the way before the beam could hit, a process that repeated several times. "Oh great, now what will I do?"

"If Combusken wants to fight then let it." Tristan responded as he folded his arms with a frown. "But from where I stand you have a long way to go in terms of earning your Pokémon's respect."

"_Earning my Pokémon's respect? I thought capturing them was enough to do that." _Christie thought before reluctantly deactivating Combusken's Pokeball. "Fine, I'll battle with Combusken!"

"Isn't she taking a risk?" Dalton commented as he scratched his head. "Combusken's still tired from its battle against Steelix."

"She is but I don't think Combusken's giving her much choice." Steve responded as he folded his arms. "If we had a net handy we could try it that way but then we'd look stupid chasing the same Pokémon all over the gym."

"That and it could easily burn its way through with a Fire Spin." Ann added and Steve nodded in response.

"All right Rhyhorn, Take Down now!" Tristan commanded once Rachel started the match and Rhyhorn charged into battle.

"Combusken, Fire Spin!" Christie commanded and the chicken like Pokémon let loose with a flame attack that collided with the charging Rhyhorn too little to no effect.

"Fire attacks won't do too much damage to a Rock Type Pokémon Christie you should know that by now!" Tristan commented as Rhyhorn's attack hit sending it skidding back.

"Maybe but some damage is better than no damage at all!" Christie responded as Combusken stood his ground. _"But I don't know if Combusken has enough energy left to do some major damage to that Rhyhorn." _Christie thought before checking her Pokedex for Combusken's moveset.

"Doing research on your Pokémon won't help you if that Pokémon's defeated! Rhyhorn, use Rock Smash!" Tristan commanded and the Rhyhorn stomped its foot down causing a fissure in the ground below it.

"_I got it!" _Christie thought as she quickly pocketed her Pokedex. "Combusken, jump and use Double Kick!" Christie commanded and the Pokémon leapt up in time to avoid the fissure before launching a pair or kicks at Rhyhorn that sent it skidding backwards. "Now use Peck!" Christie commanded and the Pokémon leapt up.

"Rhyhorn, Rock Throw!" Tristan commanded and the Pokémon launched several rocks with its horn at Combusken, Combusken dodged the first two but not the last two knocking it out. "Well, well, it seems I've turned this around in my favor!"

"Combusken is out! Rhyhorn wins!" Rachel announced as Christie called back Combusken with her Pokeball.

"So, what are Christie's options right now?" Dalton asked and Steve thought for a moment.

"Well, Evee's already been entered into battle and he's too exhausted to make a dent in Rhyhorn at the moment, Spearow and Pidgey, well if she sends either of them in she may as well concede the match to Tristan right now." Steve responded as he thought for a few more minutes. "The only Water Pokémon she has is Magicarp and well, I don't really need to say anything else about that!"

"So her best choice is Houndour." Ann responded and Steve nodded in response. "Well, he already has plenty of experience under his previous trainer so that might prove to be Christie's advantage."

"That's if that experience will be enough." Steve responded as Christie activated a Pokeball.

"Go Houndour!" Christie called out as she tossed the Pokeball and Houndour emerged from it.

"A Houndour, that's not a bad choice." Tristan complemented her and Christie grinned at that. "But this match as far from over and Rhyhorn still has a lot of fight left in him."

"And the same goes for me!" Christie responded and Houndour nodded in response.

"Rhyhorn, Take Down!" Tristan commanded once Rachel started the match and Rhyhorn started charging towards Houndour.

"Houndour, use Bite now!" Christie commanded and the Houndour charged in towards Rhyhorn, the two attacks hit at the same time sending both Pokémon skidding backwards. "Houndour, Ember!" Christie commanded and the Houndour let loose with some flames.

"Dodge them!" Tristan commanded but quickly realized that Rhyhorn wasn't moving. "Oh no, it flinched!"

"That's music to my ears!" Christie responded with a grin as the Embers hit doing significant damage to Rhyhorn. "Looks like I'll win this match yet!"

"We'll see about that!" Tristan responded as Rhyhorn got back to its feet. "Rhyhorn, Rollout!" Tristan commanded and the Rhyhorn leapt into the air before rolling into a ball and charging at Houndour with impressive speed.

"Houndour, use Ember again!" Christie commanded and the Houndour let loose with the Ember attack but the flames bounced off of Rhyhorn before the Pokémon collided with Houndour knocking it out.

"Houndour is out of the battle! Rhyhorn wins!" Rachel announced as Christie called back Houndour. "Your down to Evee Christie, you may as well give up now."

"Huh?" Christie blinked as she attached Houndour's Pokeball to her belt. "I can't use another Pokémon?"

"No, you can't, this is three on three and you've entered three Pokémon into the match." Tristan responded and Christie went to argue that point. "And yes, Torchic and Combusken count as one Pokémon and besides, your other Pokémon are Spearow, Pidgey and Magicarp, they wouldn't stand a chance."

"I guess you're right." Christie admitted as she grabbed Evee's Pokeball. "Evee, go!" Christie called out as she tossed the Pokeball and the clearly exhausted Pokémon emerged from it. _"I was hoping to avoid using Evee again but it seems like I have no choice, let's just hope that Houndour did enough damage and Evee has enough energy left to win me my first badge!"_

"Rhyhorn, keep up the Rollout!" Tristan commanded as the Rhyhorn rolled into a ball again and charged at Evee.

"Dodge it!" Christie called out and the Evee started running all around the arena.

"It can't run forever Christie!" Tristan responded and Christie grit her teeth as Evee continued to evade the Rollout before eventually coming to a dead end. "Just like I said, he can't run forever! Get him Rhyhorn!" Tristan commanded as the Rhyhorn closed in on Evee.

"_There has to be something I can do!" _Christie thought as the Rhyhorn neared Evee. "I got it! Evee, jump on top of Rhyhorn!"

"What?" Tristan responded as the Evee jumped up on top of the rolling Rhyhorn. "What do you hope to accomplish with that move?"

"I'll show you! Evee, direct Rhyhorn towards those rocks!" Christie commanded and despite some initial difficulty Evee was able to send Rhyhorn flying into some rocks, it didn't knock out Rhyhorn but it did do some significant damage. "Looks like Houndour did more damage than I thought!"

"This match isn't over yet! Rhyhorn, Horn Attack!" Tristan commanded but the Pokémon struggled to get to its feet.

"Now's my chance, Evee, finish it with Take Down!" Christie commanded and the Pokémon charged towards Rhyhorn as it tried to get to its feet, it failed however as Evee delivered the finishing blow.

"Rhyhorn is out! Evee wins! The winner of the match is the challenger Christie Monroe!" Rachel announced and Christie jumped for joy once she called back Evee. "You want to give her the Boulder Badge now?"

"Sure, just make sure that Geodude, Steelix and Rhyhorn are ready for the next match." Tristan told her and she nodded as he handed over the three Pokeballs and she ran off. "Congratulations Christie." Tristan added as he handed over the Boulder Badge. "You've earned it!"

"Thanks." Christie responded with a grin as she took the badge. "Now I need to decide where to keep my badges."

"Your hoodie has a zip so you can sow it into the inside of it." Steve pointed out and Christie sweat-dropped. "If you have no experience doing that don't worry, Nurse Joy will be happy to do it for you."

"Well in that case, I'm heading back to the Pokémon Center." Christie responded as she went towards the doors to the gym. "I'll try to make it back in time for Dalton's match."

"You'll have plenty of time, don't worry." Tristan reassured her and Christie nodded before leaving the gym.


End file.
